The Wayne Family
by puzzlemistress
Summary: Meet the new Wayne Family consisted of Dick, Wally, Connor, Artemis, and Kaldur. The actually summary, if you could call it that, is in the prologue. Topic of abuse, horrible parents, violence and abuse language and drama
1. Prologue

Author's pov

This is a story about a family, the Wayne Family to be precise. This family doesn't consist of Jason, Damian, Terry, or even Cassandra. No, this one consists of Richard 'Dick' Jonathan Grayson, Wallace 'Wally' West, Artemis Crock, M'gann 'Megan' M'orzz, Connor Kent/ Kon El, and Kaldur'ahm. Yeah, not what you would except right? All of Bruce's children were taken under his protection by choice.

They act just like any other family. They fought, they cried, and they even went to school. No matter how they appear physically, Just one big happy family.

The question is, how do they become this family? I guess you have to find out don't you.


	2. The Tale of Dick Grayson

It all started when Bruce went to the circus that was in Gotham at eight o'clock that night. The circus vaguely reminded him of his parents. He had a few memories of them when they took him to the circus when he was younger. He loved the performance acts with all of the various kinds of animals. It amazed him to see the acrobats on the trapeze and how they flew in the air like birds. He went on his date for the evening, another one of that pauper to princess stories that he had to encourage. Bruce was surprised to see a 9-year-old boy climbing up the ladder behind his parents. He was shocked that a child would be on the trapeze. As the ring leader introduced them as 'The Flying Graysons', the spotlight hit the family perfectly. They began their routine and everything was going smoothly. Bruce became slightly nervous to see the child in the air but calmed down when he was caught by his father and was swung back to the stand. Suddenly a loud snap rang throughout the tent. Soon the parents of the young Grayson were falling towards the ground. The ring master ordered for someone to call 911 as he hopelessly checked or a pulse on both of their necks. The young child was on his knees sobbing loudly into his hands. Bruce asked his good friend, Commissioner Jim Gordon, of what was going to happen to the boy. Jim told him that Dick was going into foster care, but Bruce didn't want that to happen. After about 10 minutes of arguing with his social worker, he convinced her to let Richard stay with him. Bruce wasn't going to lie, the car ride home was uncomfortable and the first couple of days were hard. Dick had nightmares every night about his parent's death. Bruce confronted him every night with comforting words and a tight warm hug. He understood what the boy was going through. He dealt with the same thing. Soon though they became fast friends, and after a while, they had a father and son relationship. Dick was not okay with living with a stranger at first, but after he got to know Mr. Wayne, he soon grew to like him. They watched movies, ate together, and even played chess. Dick even taught him Romanian. Alfred loved that Bruce had a connection with Dick. He watched from a distance as they interacted with each other. It was nice to see Bruce smiling again. Dick brought life back into the Wayne household. He considers the young lad to be his grandson. Dick was very smart for someone his age. He soon learned math and science and even know how to hack into a computer even though he never owned one. Bruce was very impressed with how fast he learned. Richard excelled in everything he learned. Except for English, Dick could never understand the grammar in the English language. The death of his parents hit him like a train. He mourned their death every day but tried not to dwell on it. Of course, he missed them, but he never let his rage consume him. His mother warned him about how rage could consume someone. He honored his parents and never let his anger over their murder consume him. Soon, though, Bruce was missing their 'family time' together. From missing meals to not being there when he woke up the next morning. Dick, being curious, investigated and soon found the Batcave. He is the adopted son of Batman! Dick told him that he knew about Batman's identity and he wanted to put his parent's murder away personally. Bruce forbids it and ordered him to stay home. Dick being Dick, simply refused and soon found his old suit from his Flying Grayson days. He followed Batman all the way back to the circus tent. When Tony Zucco started to fall off from the high beam, Dick simply couldn't have let him fall. He saved him from death and then handed him over to the police. Batman and his young ward watched as justice was being served onto the sleazy crook. Batman told him that this could be his first and only night to be a hero. Dick said how he wanted to help others. He wanted to honor his parents by stopping other people from being hurt by people like Zucco. Bruce honored and respected that and asked him what his hero name would be. Dick looked at his uniform and remembered being called Robin by his late mother.

"Robin," Dick said proudly.

"Why Robin?"

"It's a family name," Dick said as he looked at the billboard of his family.

Even though his parents and his old life was taken from him, he had a further with Bruce. And later down the line, he would have a future with his new brothers and sisters.


	3. The Tale of Wally West

Wally was so tired and hungry. All he wanted to do was rest but he couldn't. He was always on the alert for his father. Wally was sick of the abuse he suffered day after day. All he wanted was for the abuse to stop. He wanted to have two loving parents. All he ever wanted was for his father to understand that his fast metabolism is a medical condition. It's not his fault that he needs to eat more than others.

He told his uncle Barry, aka The Flash, of the abuse, but Barry didn't believe him. This made him both depressed and angry. He had a chance to runaway and by God he took it. HE was not going to give up this chance. When he parents left him in the closet to go shopping, he was able to vibrate through the door and made a breakout to the window. All he took with him was a few clothes and his speed.

Believe it or not, he was a speedster himself. His father hated him for that. At times, he would beat his legs until he heard the loud cracking of his bones. His mother didn't lift a finger to protect or even help her son. He ran as far away from Central City as possible. He soon ended up in Gotham City. He found himself walking around Gotham alone. He found a spot next to a few dumpsters and in a corner to keep himself warm before he fell asleep.

Dick was on his usual walk to the library after school to finish some homework so he could focus on training later. He had his jacket zipped up to cover his uniform and shades to hide his baby blues while kept his head down as he walked down the stairs. He saw a red sneaker sticking out behind a dumpster and became curious. He bent down and was shocked to see a young boy with red hair huddled in the corner with his backpack held tightly to his chest. He instantly felt pity for him but not in a snarky rich person way. He tapped the foot to get his attention. The red haired boy jumped in shocked and covered even deeper in the corner.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," Dick said to sooth him.

"What do you want?" the boy asked nervously as his whole body started to tremble.

"I want to know what a kid like you could be all alone near a dumpster in Gotham,"

"None of your damn business," Wally snapped in defense.

"Alright. Let me at least get some food for you. You look starving,"

Wally perked up at the mention of food. He hasn't eaten in days. Wally slowly got up on his shaky legs and started to walk over to Dick.

"Call me Dick, short for Richard,"

"Wally, short for Wallace,"

"Come on, I saw a diner back around the corner," Dick said as he and his new found friend walked back around the corner to the diner.

They sat at the table and ordered some food. Well, more like Wally ordered and Dick just asked for a glass of soda. After about 20 minutes of Wally stuffing his face, he finally became full.

"Thanks, I needed this," Wally said as he felt some of his bruises started to heal.

"No problem. Do you need a ride?" Dick asked.

"I couldn't. I have already imposed. I can walk from here. Thanks for the meal, Dick. I hope to see you around," Wally said as he hugged him gratefully.

"Wait!" Dick started to say but Wally was already gone out of the door.

He called Alfred after paying for the food and got a ride back to the manor. Dick talked to Alfred and Bruce about Wally slightly at dinner. Bruce looked up Wally's information closely and realized that he was a runaway from Central City. Something in the back of his mind told him that he shouldn't tell Flash about this. Thousands of children and teens run away from home every day. Maybe this kid was running away from something or someone at home. He looked up the reports and found out that Wally has been in and out of hospitals about thirty-five times in the past year alone.

Okay, two or three times for simple things like an ankle sprain, a rash, or even the flu are one the few thing most people would go to the hospital but thirty-five times. The medical report said that he has a fast metabolism problem. Bruce had to find this kid before he's hurt even more.

About three weeks later, Bruce was walking out of a lunch meeting at a restaurant when he saw Wally in person. He looked horrible and was basically a walking skeleton. His clothes were ripped and torn and his face was littered in scars. Bruce calmly walked over to the teen and placed his hand on his shoulder which caused Wally to flinch in pain.

"Hey, are you Wally?" Bruce asked already knowing the answer.

"What's it to you?" Wally asked tiredly.

"My son is looking for you. His name is Dick," Bruce said with a smile.

Wally's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. He really wanted to see him again. Wally thought that he was a cool kid. Wally slightly trusted him but he didn't know the man before him.

"He has?" Wally asked in shock.

"Yes, he is very worried about you. How about I take you to him," Bruce suggested.

"How do I know you're not some crazy masked murder?"

"Do you trust Dick?" he asked as he got down to Wally's level.

"Yeah,"

"Well, Dick trusts me. You don't have to trust me but you can trust him."

Wally thought about this for a moment. If this guy knew Dick than he could trust him. If all else fails, then he could use the hunting knife that he took from his house before he left.

"Alright. But one wrong more, I'm out," Wally warned.

"Fair enough."

Wally and Bruce got into the limo that arrived several minutes laters. Wally guessed that Bruce was a rich man because of the fancy limo and driver. When they arrived at Wayne Manor, Wally finally realized who the fancy rich man was. It was none other than Bruce Wayne himself. He looked at him in shock.

"I'm going to assume that you know who I am."

"You're Bruce Wayne! That's so cool! I can't believe that I'm sitting next to you. Wait, why do you care about-." Wally said in a rapid excited voice before Bruce stopped him.

"Woah, calm down and slow down I can't understand you," Bruce said as he opened the car door.

"Sorry, I talk really fast when I get excited. Why do you care about a runaway like me?" Wally asked as he slowed down his speech.

"I care about you because my son does. Come on, I'm sure that he'll be happy to see you," Bruce said, holding his hand out to him.

Wally took his hand and allowed himself to be lead to the door of the house. Wally was amazed by the detail put into the house's design. He was slightly surprised to see a man in a tuxedo who he assumed to be the butler at the door.

"This is Alfred. He has been here since my parents lived here. He is very trustworthy and I trust him with my life. Alfred this is Wally; the boy that Dick talked about," Bruce introduced.

"Hello, Master Wally. Master Dick should be in his room doing his homework. I am sure that he will be wanting to see you. Oh and Master Bruce, there is a phone call for you in your office," Alfred said in a calm gentle voice.

"May I go see him?" Wally asked.

"Of course," Bruce said before he went to his office.

Wally followed behind Alfred to where Dick's room is. Wally knocked on the door and heard a loud 'come in' as Alfred opened the door.

Dick was sitting at his desk working on his Algebra 2 homework when he heard the knock on the door.

"Come in," Dick said as he finished the last problem.

He was surprised to see Wally at the door. He shot up from his chair and ran over towards him.

"Wally! You're really here!" Dick exclaimed happily as he hugged him.

"You're dad found me. He wanted to bring me to you. He said that you were really worried about me," Wally explained as he returned the hug.

"Are you staying?"

"That will depend on your father, Master Dick. I have prepared dinner for our hungry guest," Alfred said as he motioned for him to follow them.

Dick follow Alfred which in turn made Wally follow him. Wally's eyes widened in shock to see the food laid out buffet style on the table. He looked at Dick or a sign of approval which was a nod. He ran to the table and dove in like a fish diving into water. Dick only chuckled and made sure that Wally didn't choke on his food. After the meal was devoured, Wally sat down in the chair in relief.

"You must have been starving," Bruce said slightly surprised.

"Yeah. Thank you so much, Mr. Wayne," Wally said gratefully.

"Now, we have some questions. Why did you run away from home?" Bruce asked in a gentle voice.

"You won't believe me," Wally said as his whole posture changed and his voice became filled with disappointment.

"Tell me anyway."

"My dad beats me and my mom doesn't do anything to stop it," Wally explained as his whole body started to shake in shock.

Dick looked pissed as hell. Wally seemed like a nice and sweet person, so why or how could someone hurt him. Dick hugged him tightly.

"What does he do yo you?" Bruce asked in a protective voice.

"He hits me, starved me, and knows that I have a fast metabolism. So he's not gullible that I have a bizarre diet issue," Wally explained as he returns the hug.

"And your mother does nothing to stop this?" Bruce asked to be sure he got his facts correct.

"Yes, she would just leave the room or simply ignores it," Wally said as he started to cry.

"And how old are you?" Bruce asked.

"I'm 11," Wally answered through his sniffles.

Bruce also became pissed. His softly growled under his breath. How could someone hurt such an innocent soul like Wally. He couldn't take Wally back to his parents.

"Wally, you know that I have to take you back to your parents," Bruce said regretfully.

"Please don't! He'll kill me for running away! Please!" Wally begged as he let go of Dick and got down on his knees.

"Dad you can't. Isn't there something you could do?" Dick said as he got on his knees and tried to comfort his upset friend.

"I have an idea. Wally comes with me. Dick stay here with Alfred,"

"Does he have to stay?" Wally asked as he looked at him with a pleading look.

"Did you finish your homework?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah," Dick partially lied.

"Come on then," Bruce said to him as he walked out of the dining room.

Dick and Wally got up and followed after Bruce to the car. After two hours of driving to Central City and three stops at McDonald's, they finally arrived at the West residence. Bruce woke Wally up and told him to follow him. Waly became frightened. He didn't want to be here. Wally trusted Bruce and he stood behind him. Bruce knocked on the door and a woman with red hair opened it.

"Yes," she said in a firm voice.

Bruce put his hand behind his back and motioned for Wally to move. Wally sadly and fearfully made himself visible.

"Wally you're okay!" she said acting surprised to see her son as she reached to hug him.

"Mary, it that faggot back?" a man asked rudely.

Wally jumped in shock and full of fear moved away from Mary and hid behind Bruce.

"That's how you address to your runaway son that just returned after 3 weeks?" Bruce asked in a protective manner.

"Thanks for returning the brat," The man said.

"I'm not returning him. I want to make an offer to you. He tells me that you have been abusing and starving him, and your loving wife doesn't stop it. I want to adopt him," Bruce explained causing Wally to become hopeful.

"What?" Both husband and wife asked.

"I do not want him to be harmed any longer. I want to keep him with me for as long as he pleases," Bruce explained.

"Why do you want him?" Mary asked confused.

"I will repeat myself: I do not want him to harmed any longer. I will have papers to you in the morning. All you have to do is sign it. I will even send a check if I have to. He will not be staying here," Bruce explained firmly.

"Who the hell are you?" The man asked harshly.

"I am the only person to give a damn about your son," Bruce said angrily.

The angry man reached out for Wally violently. Wally screamed fearfully as he hid behind Bruce. Bruce was able to block his father, protecting Wally from his grasp.

"If you try anything that stupid again, I will call the police. Wally get in the car," Bruce ordered in a protective manner.

Wally ran to the car and Dick opened the door for him. Bruce stood against the angry man not even blinking under his glare. All he could do was send an even darker glare. ; the Batman glare, which caused Mr. West to take a step back.

"You will sign the damn paper when they are sent to you. If you don't you both will be sent to jail," Bruce said as he walked away.

When he got to the car, he found Wally in Dick's arms sobbing his eyes out. Bruce did the one thing that his father did to him when he was upset: he wrapped him tightly in his arms. Wally turned around to him and hugged Bruce tightly. He sobbed in his arms both in relief and with fear. No one has never fought for him like that. Wally felt like he matter to someone again. All he could do was sob 'thank you' in his shoulder over and over again. Bruce rubbed his shoulders comfortably and allowed him to cry. When Wally fell asleep in his arms due to exhaustion, he placed him in his seat and asked Dick to buckle him up. Bruce took off his coat and wrapped him with it.

They drove home in silence. When they returned home, he had one of his lawyer's type up the papers while this happened, he made sure that Wally had a room, lots of food, and Alfred even went to the store to buy him a whole new wardrobe. He smiled when he heard how both of his boys were laughing down the hall. He also received a phone call from Dick's social worker telling him that Dick was now his legal son. He was so happy that he ran to Dick's room to tell him.

When he told him, Dick started to rant excitedly in Romanian but how happy he was to now be his legal son and no longer a ward of the state. Wally was just happy that Dick was happy.

The next day he received a call from the West residence saying that they signed the papers. A week later, Wally became his legal son. When he told Wally, he couldn't stop crying with joy. Bruce picked him up in a hug and had to carry him to his room. They both laid in bed in the father/son embrace. Wally finally got his wish, a loving family.

A few weeks went by and Wally and Dick were playing in the yard. They were playing tag and Dick was shocked to see how fast Wally was running away from him. After about four other games of tag and after 10 races, Dick put two and two together realizing that he was also a speedster. They both told Bruce about it. That was when Bruce decided to do the big reveal to Wally. Wally now knew the family secret. The identity of Batman and Robin. He was running circles around the Batcave. He went on and one about how cool it was to be Robin and Batman. Dick almost tripped him in order to make him stop. After a while he calmed down and listened. Batman told him that he could be a hero like them and help them save lives. Wally jumped at the chance and soon became Speedy the young scarlet speedster.

The Wayne family seemed complete, or at least not until they had two more sons and two more daughters.

END OF CHAPTER 2


	4. The Tale of Artemis Crock

Artemis was so sick and tired of this crap. Ever since Jade left, her father, Lawrence Crock, has been acting crazy. Sure that he trained her to be a killer but her actually killing someone, a line had to be drawn. The thing that ticked her off the most was that every time she messed up, her father would hit her for it. One time, she tried to stop him from killing an innocent man, he nearly beaten her to death. It landed her in the hospital with various broken bones and a nearly collapsed lung injury.

She had a chance to get out of this evil house and she took it. When her father was pass out drunk, she went out of the window. She packed a small sack full of clothes, toothbrush along with toothpaste, and her small teddy bear that her mother gave her before she was sent away to jail.

She trolled the streets of Gotham and soon found a diner to rest in. She took a seat next to the heater and ordered a cup of hot chocolate when a man in a black tuxedo and a Rolex on his wrist took a seat across from her.

"Can I help you?" Artemis asked coldly.

"Can I help you? Why is a child such as yourself doing in the worse part of town?" The man in the suit asked.

"None of you damn business," Artemis snapped at him.

"Why do young people swear so much these days?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Sorry. What do you want from me?" Artemis asked.

"I want to know why you are away from home. Where are your parents?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" Artemis asked as she reached for the knife.

"Because no child should be without a family," the man replied to her.

"You need to mind your business," Artemis said.

"You look hungry. At least let me get yourself something to eat," the man insisted.

"Fine," Artemis said letting her empty stomach do the talking.

The man told her to order herself what she wanted, which was an omelet along with bacon and a glass of juice. He asked her questions about her life and her family. She talked about now her mother was locked away in jai. Then she told him that her father trained her to be a master assassin. When she told how old she was, his jaw completely dropped. What kind of man trains his two young daughters to become killers. Artemis was twelve years old. What twelve year old would be raised in a place like that. No wonder she ran away. This man was completely nuts. He had to help this girl.

"Do you want to stay with me? You'll get food, warm bed, and two loving brothers," He offered.

"Why should I?" Artemis said in shock.

"I only want to make sure that you have a safe environment for you to grow up in. You don't have that in your own home and you won't get it on the streets," he explained.

"What are you going to do to me?" Artemis asked.

"Nothing inappropriate if that's what you're implying," He said as he grew serious.

"How do I know this?" Artemis asked.

"I wouldn't have two kids if I was. You don't have to say yes right away but the option is available," he explained.

She thought about this for several long minutes. She had a choice, stay on the streets or go with the stranger that has food and a bed. Not much of a choice there if you really think about it.

"Okay, but if you make one wrong move, you know what I'm capable of," Artemis warned.

"Fair enough," he said as he finished coffee. "We can leave after you eat," he added.

After she finished eating, they got in his car and headed to the Wayne manor. Artemis could tell by his Rolex and fancy car that he was rich. She clutched her bag close to her chest protectively. When they arrived, she was shocked to know his name.

"Bruce Wayne. The 'White Knight' of Gotham," Artemis said as she saw the 'W' on the gate.

"I would have thought that you would have figured it out earlier," Bruce said.

"I guess that the 'prince' needs a fews kids," Artemis said as she followed behind Bruce.

"Maybe. Now my oldest son Wally is a little hyper active so he might talk a little fast," Bruce warned as he opened the door.

"Welcome home Master Bruce. And where have you been if I may ask?" Alfred asked.

"I had a meeting in town and I needed a good cup of coffee," Bruce explained.

"And who is this young lady?" Alfred asked as his attention turned towards Artemis.

"This is our new house guess, Artemis. Artemis this is Alfred. He is the butler but we treat him like family," Bruce introduced.

"Hello there Ms. Artemis," Alfred said in a soft and soothing voice.

"Hey," Artemis said as she waved to him slightly.

"I am going to assume that Master Bruce has made sure that you were fed. If you are still hungry, I could make you some soup," Alfred said keeping his voice calm.

This tone relaxed her instantly. She smile at him but tightened the grip on the bag.

"Oh no thank you. I'm actually really full. Where will I be sleeping?" Artemis said slightly nervous.

"I have a room for you. I just need to get some sheets and blankets," Alfred said as he went to the spare room.

"Dickie! Wally! Come here!" Bruce called out.

She heard the loud footsteps and the loud laughing coming from down the hall and down the stairs. She saw two young boys, one had short red hair and greens eyes with freckles littering his cheeks and the other one had short black hair and huge blue eyes.

"Hey dad. Who's she." The red haired boy asked.

"This is Artemis. She'll be staying with us. Artemis, this is Wally and Dick," Bruce introduced as he motioned to each other.

"Hey," Artemis said as she grew suddenly shy.

"Hi! It's cool to have a girl in the house. Your really pretty and…" Wally said in a fast rapid pace.

"What he's trying to say is, welcome to the family," Dick stepped in to help.

"Thank you," Artemis said as she chuckled at them.

"Look. We're watching cartoons in the den. Come on," Dick said as he took her hand.

"Can I go?" Artemis asked Bruce as she was being pulled.

"I don't think you have a choice," Bruce said with a small chuckle.

Artemis for the first time since Jade left, let out a chuckle and allowed herself to be dragged. As the kids watched cartoons, Bruce had a little research to do. He went to the cave and looked up Artemis' family.

Artemis sister Jade has been missing since Artemis was seven years old and her mother has been serving time in jail on a thirteen year sentence. Her mother, Paula, aka Tigress, has currently served seven years when she surrendered herself when Artemis was five. Her father, Lawrence, aka Sportmaster, has been in and out of jail for murders and attempted murders. Paula has been in and out of jail since Jade was two but she was out of jail for five years when Artemis was born.

Both Jade and Artemis have been in and out of hospitals for years. Batman had to stop this now. Bruce was called to dinner and decided to settle this matter later. They all sat around the table and talked about their day. Wally and Artemis got into an argument at the table about pokémon and who was the better Power Ranger. All Dick did was laugh loudly. Bruce realized that Artemis would fit in nicely in their home. After he tucked all three of the children in bed, he headed out. When Dick and Wally asked about patrol, he said that it was a bad night for the boys.

Batman traveled to Artemis' house and caught her father getting dressed as Sportsmaster. He swung in the room and pinned Sportsmaster to the wall.

"What the hell!" He shouted in shock.

"Shut up! You are going to allow Bruce Wayne to adopt your daughter Artemis. If you come near her again, I will personally ruin you. I will destroy your life from the inside out. Do you understand," Bruce explained in his usual 'Batman' cold harsh tone.

"What the hell do you want with my daughter?" Sportsmaster demanded.

Batman punched him in the stomach and threw him to the ground.

"Do you understand?" Batman growled again.

Sportsmaster noded slowly. He left the apartment and headed out on patrol.

Two months later, Wally was enrolled in school for four months, Artemis was now legally Bruce's daughter. When Artemis was told about the legal adoption, she was so happy. she finally felt like she belonged somewhere. Like she was worth fighting for. She gave Bruce a tight hug and kept saying thank you to him, trying not to cry. He hugged her tightly and just smiled at her happiness. She finally had a family, that was all she ever wanted.

Bruce didn't treat her differently because she was a girl. He just had to watch what he said. Artemis loved living at Wayne Manor. She even gained twenty-five pounds since she ate amazingly, thanks to Alfred's cooking.

Bruce realized that Artemis was a talented child. He caught her outside throwing knifes at the dartboard, hitting the bullseye every time. She has martial arts training and her being able to hit the bullseye proved her skills in weapons. He talked about her joining their little team with the boys and let's just say that Wally got out voted. Bruce told Artemis that she could be a hero.

Artemis always wanted to help people instead of hurting them. She agreed to be a hero and took the name Artemis. She has always admired the goddess of hunting. She loved shooting arrows and knows how to fire it accurately. Wally and Artemis bickered back and forth during patrol at times. No matter how much they love each other, they always seem to love bickering just as much. Just brotherly and sisterly love.

 **END OF CHAPTER 3**


	5. The Tale of Kaldur'ahm

**WARNING- this is going to be the longest chapter since I love Kaldur the most out of everybody. So here we go**

Today was the day. The day that he was going to escape from Atlantis for good. He had been planning this for months from between hiding away from his parents to the authorities hunting him down. This moment was the only good chance he had. When the guards left their post, he took his chances and made his escape from Atlantis. He memorized Aquaman's activation code and used it to get to the surface. He dreamed of his freedom on the surface for years and now, he was finally getting his wish.

He typed in the coded that he memorized and stepped into the zeta beam. When he stepped in, he had a slightly funny feeling in his stomach before he arrived in an alley. Even with all the dirt and grime, he thought it was a thing of beauty. He walked barefoot down the alley, being very careful of not stepping on pieces of glass and trash. The light blinded him as he made his way to the public area and he almost ran into traffic. He realized that he was standing in grassy area by a mall. The soft yet prickly feeling on his feet made his heart race. He found his little piece of heaven on earth. Taking in a deep breath of the fresh air, he ran from the grass area to the sandy beach side south from the mall. He got lost in his excitement and realized that he was standing in water. Not floating, but actually standing! He used his feet to kick the water up around him as a loud joyful laugh escaped his lips. He had never been so happy.

His parade was soon rained on when a man in black came on the beach. Kalur turned and became frightened. He used his magic to freeze his feet but Manta just jumped to the side to avoid the attack. Kaldur took off running to get away from him. He bumped into people down the busy sidewalk. He kept looking behind him to see if his father was behind him. His father was always few feet behind him in this wild goose chase. He kept on running until he came, well crashed, into a man in a black suit. He crawled back away from the man, but the man knelt down and tried to calm him down.

"Hey, are you okay? I didn't mean to frightened you," The man said in a gentle tone.

Kaldur looked back and saw that his father was coming closer. He jumped into the strange man's arms for protection.

"What's wrong? Why are you running away?" The man asked as he held the boy.

"Help me, please," Kaldur begged as his voice began to shake.

"I suggest that you let him go." a voice in front of them ordered.

The two looked up to see Black Manta standing a few feet in front of them. Kaldur screamed and began to cry while he crawled back to the man he crashed into.

"I suggest you back off," the man holding Kaldur said in a protective manner.

"Who the hell are you?" Manta demanded.

"Who the hell are you?" the man demanded as he put the child down and moved the child behind him.

"I'm his father. I would like him back now," Manta said.

"I don't think that he wants to be anywhere near you," He said as he motioned to the trembling child.

"What he wants does not matter to me. He is my son which also makes him my property," Manta explained.

"Is there a problem Mr. Wayne?" A tall muscular man said a he got out of the car.

"Call the police," Mr. Wayne ordered as he put Kaldur in the car and closed the door.

Bruce and Manta argued back and forth until the police came. The police talked to Kaldur when Bruce opened the door but he was too scared to talk to them. When Manta ordered him not to say anything and nearly charged at him the cops had to arrest him. Bruce took off his coat and wrapped it around Kaldur.

"Hello. Can I ask what's your name?" He asked softly.

"Kaldur'ahm, but you can just call me Kaldur though," Kaldur answered. "What is your name sir?" He asked hesitantly.

"My name is Bruce Wayne. But you can call me Bruce," Bruce explained.

"Hello Mr. Wayne. Thank you for stopping my father. I didn't want to go home with him. He and my mother are not very kind to me," Kaldur explained respectfully which was a shock to Bruce.

"What do you mean by that?" Bruce asked as the police took notes.

"Sometimes I do bad things. My parents punish me for it," Kaldur said.

"What do they do to you?" Bruce asked but already knew by the visible bruises on his arms and face.

"My father would hit me and my mother would sometimes join him," Kaldur explained as he became some what uncomfortable.

"What bad things did you do?" Bruce asked.

"I- I dropped a cup once. I did not do everything my father told me to do perfectly. I was sick for far too long. Just small things I guess. My parents have very short tempers," Kaldur explained as Bruce became angry.

"Do you have any where to go?" The older police officer asked.

"No. Do I have to go back?" Kaldur asked as his worst nightmare started to come to life.

"What if I took him to live with me until I could legally adopt him," Bruce suggested to the officer.

The police agreed at the known fact that Bruce had done this before. Bruce took Kaldur home but it was around 6:00 in the evening. Dick was at a mathlete practice, Wally was at track practice, and Artemis was at archery practice. Alfred was at the door, waiting when the driver told him about the police.

"Master Bruce, are you alright?" Alfred asked in a slight fatherly tone.

"Yes, I'm fine. Alfred meet our new house guest Kaldur'ahm, but he prefers to be called Kaldur. Kaldur, this is Alfred Pennyworth. He is our butler but we treat him like family," Bruce explained.

"Hello Mr. Pennyworth," Kaldur said politely as he clung Bruce's leg.

"Hello Master Kaldur. Please call me Alfred. I am sure that you are very hungry. Let me fix you something to eat," Alfred said.

Before Kaldur could say no, his stomach let out a loud growl.

"I am going to assume that you are very hungry," Alfred said as he went to the kitchen.

"Thank you," Kaldur said.

"Come on, I will show you to your room," Bruce said as he held his hand out to him.

"I get a room?" Kaldur asked in shock.

"Of course you do. Now I do have other children but I am sure you'll get along with them. They are very friendly," Bruce explained as he lead Kaldur to his room.

"How many?" Kaldur asked.

"Three. Two boys and one girl. Just don't underestimate her," Bruce explained.

"Why?" Kaldur asked as he became nervous.

"Just trust me. My oldest has the bruises and the broken toys to prove it," Bruce said.

"Will she hurt me?" Kaldur asked becoming very nervous.

"No. Just don't push her. Here we are," Bruce as he opened the door to one of the empty bedrooms.

Kaldur had a king size bed with a grey carpet along with a balcony. He ran out to the balcony and looked out into the yard.

"Is this really mine?" Kaldur asked in shock.

"Yes, for as long as you want," Bruce said with a large smile on his face.

"Thank you," Kaldur said gratefully as tears started to form in his eyes.

"You are very welcome. Now, how about we go downstairs to see if Alfred is finished with your meal," Bruce said.

Kaldur follow behind Bruce with a joyful smile. Alfred made chicken noodle soup with crackers. He never had soup before. It smelled so good and it made his whole body warm. Kaldur nearly devoured the soup to the point that he picked up the bowl of broth and slurped it down. It didn't even burn his throat because he was so hungry. Hiding out in the middle of nowhere with no food or water will make you hungry. After about(Time?) he finishing the whole pot of soup by himself and four bottles of water, Alfred made him mostaccioli with garlic bread. Kaldur had never had so much delicious food in his entire life. He was only stuck with leftovers and scraps from his parents. He ate two plates of pasta so fast that it will make Wally eat at the pace of a sloth. When he finally became full from his large meal, he did something that surprised both Alfred and Bruce.

Kaldur got up from his chair and took his dishes and walked into the kitchen to place them in the sink. He was basically a walking skeleton. It takes him a few minutes to get up and put away his dishes instead of asking Alfred or someone else to do it for him. How is it possible that Kaldur had two abusive parents, almost had to go back with the bastard and he was still polite and respectful. Bruce and Kaldur went into the living room to talk about what was going to happen to him.

When Alfred left to go get the other kids, Kaldur finally fell asleep on the couch. Kaldur wanted to go up the stairs but he was too exhausted for that. Kaldur in total drank over ten bottles of water. Bruce laid a blanket over him to keep him warm and watched over him. When the kids came back, with two cases of water, they were in shock to see a kid sleeping on the couch.

"Who is he?" Wally asked.

"His name is Kaldur. He is in a bit of a fragile state, so just keep the excitement to a minimal," Bruce explained.

"Is he our new brother?" Dick asked.

"Not yet but soon," Bruce said as he received a phone call. "Stay here with him," He said as he stepped into the hall.

Kaldur started to stir lightly which caused him a sharp pain in his side which caused him to wake up. He was even more frightened to be surrounded by three new strangers.

"Who are you?" Kaldur asked as he tried to breath through his pain.

"I'm Richard, but you can call me Dick. These are my siblings, Wally and Artemis," Dick introduced as he motioned to them.

"Are you okay?" Wally asked as he tried to reach out and touch him.

Kaldur moved away from the touch which caused him to cry out in pain.

"Dad!" Artemis called out in panic.

"What is it?" Bruce said as he came in the room.

"Kaldur's in pain," Dick said as Bruce knelt down beside Kaldur.

"How long?" Bruce said as he tried to examine Kaldur for any signs of bleeding.

"A while," Kaldur admitted in a soft painful groan.

"The paramedic said you were fine," Bruce said in surprise.

"It was after we left them. I did not want to be of anymore trouble than I have already have," Kaldur explained as he held his side.

"Can you lift up your shirt? I need to see for any bruising," Bruce asked.

Kaldur, as gently as he could, rolled up his shirt. His midsection was covered in blue and purple bruises and opened scars.

"Alfred, call an ambulance!" Bruce shouted in panic.

Kaldur was in tears thinking he did something wrong. Bruce tried to calm him down with soothing words and rubbed his shoulder gently.

"Dickie, grab a camera," Bruce said.

Dick ran upstairs and went to his room for a camera.

"D-did I do something wrong?" Kaldur asked nervously.

"No, no, no. Don't worry. We're going to get you some help. Just relax," Bruce said.

"Kaldur, on a scale from one to ten how much does it hurt?" Alfred asked as he moved the phone.

"Ten," Kaldur said as the room became fuzzy.

Alfred repeated into the phone and soon became impatient with the operator.

"Alfred where are they?" Wally asked nervously.

"They are in route," Alfred said as Dick gave him the camera.

Bruce took pictures of Kaldur's bruises and cuts but Kaldur simply refused to show his back. Artemis notices a small blood pool on the pillows.

"Kaldur are you bleeding?" She asked seriously.

"Possibly," Kaldur said tiredly.

"We need to see it, okay. We'll be quick about it," Artemis said in a calm voice.

Kaldur sighed and sat up. He took off his jacket and lifted up the shirt and the whole room became angry and very concerned. His back was covered in slash marks and opened sores. There was a tattoo of an eel that went up his back and down his arms. You could see how boney he actually was.

"Kaldur who did this to you?" Wally asked as he became empathic.

"My father and mother," Kaldur said as he let out a loud cough into his hand.

He looked at his hand and saw the splattered blood covering his hand.

"That's it. Alfred get the car ready. Kids, get towels, water, and get Wally's snack bag. We might be there for a while," Bruce said as he picked up Kaldur gently.

"Right away sir," Alfred said as he went to get the car ready and the kids went to get the things.

Bruce carried him to the truck as Alfred told the police that they couldn't wait anymore. The kids scrambled to the truck with the things and placed them in. They had to sit on the floor so they could make sure that Kaldur was awake and alive. Alfred had to lock the doors quickly before he ran to the car and hopped in. Bruce drove like a mad man to the hospital. They got to the hospital in a time span of ten minutes and they quickly got him out of the car. Bruce carried himself as the kids ran inside and called for help.

"Help! Please! We need help!" They shouted to the lady upfront.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"My son needs help please!" Bruce shouted as the kids ran to him.

"I need a gurney!" She shouted as a male nurse ran with a gurney.

"What happened?" The male nurse asked as they placed Kaldur on the gurney.

"I brought him home and gave him something to eat and he fell asleep on the couch. He started to cough up blood and Alfred, our butler, called the ambulance. They took too long so I just decided to drive him here myself," Bruce explained as Kaldur was placed on the gurney.

"Are you his legal guardian?" The first nurse asked.

"No. The police gave me permission to take him home until I could legally adopt him. He said that his father did this to him," Bruce explained as he gave the number to the police officer that handled his early issue.

"Okay. Where is the mother?" She asked.

"I have no idea on his mother but his father is in jail," Bruce said.

"What is the boy's name?" The male nurse asked.

"Kaldur. I honestly don't know his last name." Bruce answered.

"Okay, I will let you know if I or any of the other doctors tell you if anything happens to him," She said as she followed the doctors.

"Will Kaldur be okay?" Wally asked as his fear of hospitals came back to life.

"He survived this long, he will survive," Bruce said as they took a seat.

Five hours went by, everyone was sitting and waiting for news on Kaldur's condition, and four trips to the vending machine for Wally. The doctor came out of the operating room around 1:30 am.

"The nurse told me that you came with Kaldur," He said as he shook his hand.

"Bruce Wayne," He said.

"Dr. Cumming." The doctor replied. "Kaldur is suffering from several infections that have probably been there for years along with several broken bones that have healed and been re-broken several different times. It is honestly a miracle that he is still alive," He explained.

"Can we go and see him?" Bruce asked.

"Yes. He is asleep after being sedative. He was fighting the nurses and causing himself even more pain," Cumming explained as he lead the Wayne's into Kaldur's room.

"Is he going to be okay?" Artemis asked.

"Of course. He is fine. He was talking in a different language and screaming a name. I believe it was your name ," Cumming explained as he stopped at the door.

"He is also suffering through PTSD and Anxiety so please tread lightly," He said.

"Thank you," Bruce said.

"Call one of the nurses if you need anything," Cumming said as he walked down the hall.

Bruce walked in carefully, not wanting to wake Kaldur up. Kaldur was hooked up to a few IV cords and water drips. Wally had been there and done this with his own parents so he knows what it is like. Wally's father was an ass and a deadbeat but he never did this to him. Kaldur looked like he was on edge of death. His bruises on his face have only swelled along with tears stains and cleaned of blood and his neck had three small slits on each side of his neck. The weird thing was that where there gaze was covering the slits, there was no blood on the graze. Along with those injuries, his arms are covered in blood and cuts that are covered in gaze.

"Oh my gosh," Artemis said in shock.

"Please tell me we get to hurt the son of a gun who did this?" Dick asked angrily.

"He's already in jail, but he'll get out," Bruce said.

"People like him always get out," Wally said sadly.

They sat around him and waited or Kaldur to wake up. After thirty minutes of sleeping and five trips to the vending machine. Kaldur woke up.

"Hey," Bruce said with a small smile.

Kaldur was still a little bit loopy from the drugs so all he could do was mumble incoherently. This made all of the kids chuckle lightly. There was a small knock on the door and Alfred walked into the room. He came back with more snacks for them, mostly for Wally, and Bruce's tablet in case he had to spend a few nights.

"How is Master Kaldur faring?" Alfred asked.

"He's awake," Dick said as Wally took the bag of snacks.

"Where? How did-" Kaldur said in a soft groggy tone as he started to fade out again.

"Shh. Rest now Kaldur. It is alright. You are in the hospital," Bruce said.

"Thank you," Kaldur slurred before going back to sleep.

They stayed with him for several long hours until the doctor said that he has to stay there for a few days for observation. The infections were fortunately not deadly. They were treatable he had to stay on the IV drip. The kids went back to the manor due to the fact they had school the next day. Bruce stayed with Kaldur as he slept. He needed Kaldur to know that he was safe now. They talked about his abuse and his parents. Kaldur began to cry his eyes out and started to have a panic attack. Bruce did the best he could to keep him calm. His past brought Bruce to tears as he heard about the violent words and even more violent actions his own parents did to him. Bruce promised him that he would have a warm place to stay and food on the table, and that he was now his family and he would fight like hell to make him stay with Bruce

Kaldur was shocked and happy to hear that. No one has ever done that for him before. He honestly was speechless. All he could do was squeeze the hand that Bruce gave him and smiled warmly at him. There was something that ran through Kaldur's mind, hope. He has never had hope before in so many year that he had forgotten what it felt like. Growing up in a home filled to the brim with anger and rage and hopelessness and with a king that never actually helped him, hope seemed like a fable dream. Having hope now, all Kaldur hoped for was that he could keep that hope.

The doctor gave him antibiotics to take for ten days and he was given thirty anti anxiety pills. The doctor told him that he needed to talk to a therapist for his emotional and mental abuse. Bruce agreed and paid for all of his medical treatment. It took some teeth pulling but Kaldur agreed to go to therapy. After his days under observation ended, they were able to take him home. The kids took turns pushing Kaldur's wheelchair, after arguing about it for a good five minutes. They used their jackets to make a cushion for him since he was still sore.

All three of the kids talked to Kaldur about TV shows and movies they wanted to watch with him. Kaldur has never watch TV or a movie before. They took Kaldur to the den and put in Beauty and the Beast. Kaldur's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw the candle and the dishes singing and dancing and talking. He had so many questions on the characters and the setting. When they finished the first movie, they let Kaldur pick the next one. He became interested in the movie "Aladdin' so that became his choice. Kaldur fell in love with the characters, especially Genie. He connected to him the most.

Like Genie, all Kaldur wanted was to be was free. It brought a small tear to his eye at the end when he got his wish. He became even more excited when he saw that there was a squeal. When Bruce came into the den after several hours later, he saw that Kaldur was asleep on the couch surrounded by Wally, Dick, and Artemis. He smiled happily as he went into the room and draped a long blanket over them, placing a small kiss on each of their foreheads. He turned off the lights and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Before he went back to his office he thought:"My kids."

As Kaldur and the others became closer as a family, Kaldur's scars both physical and emotional began to heal. Kaldur had to visit a therapist once a week. His antibiotics for his infections were working as they slowly started to vanish. After two weeks of being on his anti depressant pills and his anti anxiety pills, he wanted to stop taking them. It was not a medical decision by a doctor, it was his own decision. He told Bruce about it and he was a bit skeptical about it. He was worried about Kaldur's health. He told Kaldur that he should start to slowly stop taking them, just one pill a day until he's finished his prescription and they wouldn't go to get it refilled. He agreed to Bruce's terms.

This was the first time that Kaldur has been on prescription pills for any reason. After Kaldur finished his prescription, Bruce told him the risks of not being on them. Kaldur understood them and thought that everything was going to be fine. At first Kaldur was having these thoughts. They were really disturbing. Then soon became the thoughts of suicide. His past came back to haunt him again, which caused him to have headaches. He would talk to either Alfred or Bruce about his past and his thoughts. Bruce tried to stop him from going on like this and tried to make him take his pills again. Kaldur still refused even though he felt like he was getting sick. After a while the symptoms stopped and Kaldur felt a lot better about everything. Even though Kaldur still had his minor thoughts of ending his life, the majority of his mind kept telling him that he had a wonderful life ahead of him. Something to look forward to in the future. Besides, he had to deal with three younger siblings that kept him active, which in turn kept him happy, which also in turn kept him away from his thoughts of death and away from his depressive state of mind.

There was something else eating away at Kaldur though. The fact that he was an Atlantean. Kaldur hated lying to people. One night he had a nightmare of being sent back to Atlantis and he realized that he had to tell him. He got out of bed and walked to Bruce's room. When he saw that the bed was empty, he went to his office. He saw the light on and knocked on the door lightly. When he didn't get a response, he opened the door and peak in the room. He was slightly surprised to see that Bruce wasn't in the room. He looked around the office and became interested in the books he kept. After about ten minutes of waiting, he heard a loud noise coming from the book case. He ran behind the chair and waited. Kaldur saw Alfred coming out from the bookcase. Alfred pushed bottom on a bust of an old man and left the room. Kaldur became curious in the bust and tried to open the book case. He lifted up the head of the bust and push the red button. The book case slided up to reveal a secret elevator shaft which opened up for Kaldur. He got in and pushed the down arrow button. He slightly jumped a little in shock when the elevator took him down. When he reached the bottom, the door of the elevator opened. Kaldur walked out of the elevator and was shocked to see a huge penny, a large computer screen along with a keyboard, a dinosaur, and four cases with only three of them containing suits.

"Oh my Neptune," Kaldur muttered in shock as he realized who Batman was.

"Well I guess the cat is out of the bag," a deep voice said causing Kaldur to jump.

He turned around to see Batman standing near the Batmobile, cowl and all. He started to walk over to Kaldur but he stopped when he saw Kaldur was shaking.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Batman said.

"You did not. I am just shaken," Kaldur said as he tried to calm himself.

"Why are you shooken Kaldur?" Batman, turned Bruce Wayne, said as he took off his cowl.

"I do not want to be in trouble. I was merely curious and I found this," Kaldur explained as he quickly turned his calm demeanor to shame and embarrassment.

"Listen to me, you're not in trouble. I would have told you any way. I don't keep secrets from my family. No matter what. Besides, I need to talk to you about your heritage," Bruce said as he motioned for Kaldur to follow him.

"What do you mean?" Kaldur asked.

"I know where you are from along with who your father really is," Bruce explained.

"Please, I beg of you do not send me back there. She is will kill me for abandoning her and leaving David in jail," Kaldur said as he tries not to become too panicked.

"Listen to me, I am not by any means sending you back there. I just want to talk about why you left. I understand that a reason why you left was because of the abuse but I have an ally in Atlantis. The king. Why didn't you go to him?" Bruce explained as he sat down in his chair and motioned for Kaldur for him to sit on the small space he made on the desk.

Kalur let out a small sigh as he took a seat on the desk. He didn't want to bring this up since he never wanted Bruce to become in danger all because of his personal issues.

"Well, let us just say that my issue with him is a personal one. I do not want to get others involved," Kaldur said as he choose his wording carefully.

"You know that you can't tell anyone about our identities. Also don't tell Wally that you know," Bruce said.

"Why not?" Kaldur asked slightly nervous.

"He wants to be the one to tell you in the most dramatic way in the entire world," Bruce said with a small chuckle.

Kaldur joined the laughter before he started to cough on the pressure he was putting on his lungs. Bruce rubbed his back softly as he tried to help him breath. When he relaxed his breathing, Kaldur gave him a sad and slightly concerned smiled.

"What about Aquaman? Will you send me to him?" Kaldur asked as he became worried for his own safety.

"No. If Aquaman comes looking for you and has an idea about taking you back, I will shut it down. I truly mean that Kaldur. I will make sure that nothing cause you to go back, okay. You don't have to worry about that anymore," Bruce explained as he looked Kaldur straight in the eye.

"Okay. Thank you," Kaldur said greatfully.

Bruce took Kaldur upstairs and put him back to bed. He honestly forgot about the reason why he got up. Kaldur was able to rest peacefully as he now knows that he was safe in the manor.

Even though Kaldur was happy to be out of Atlantis, he missed being in the water. He was walking around the manor as his thoughts wandered to being in the water when he found an indoor pool. he was thrilled to see this and decided to take a swim. He carefully unwrapped the gauze around his neck and flex his gills out slowly, just to see if they were fine or still badly bruised. When he felt them flare up he smile slightly to see that they were fine and working. Kaldur lost track of time and he soon went to the bottom of the pool and started to meditative. He needed to meditate in order to stay connect to his magic. His tattoos started to glow a light blue as he entered a deep meditative state.

Wally and Artemis went looking for Kaldur since dinner was about to be served soon. They looked everywhere, and they couldn't find him until something told Wally to go look for him in the pool. He saw Kaldur at the bottom of the pool.

"Arty! Get Dad!" Wally shouted as he looked in the pool to see if Kaldur was even alive.

"What! You found him?!" She shouted in response.

"He's in the pool at the bottom! Hurry!" He shouted as he tried to poke Kaldur with the pool stick.

Kaldur was in deep meditative state so he couldn't hear the commotion above, but he did feel something poke at him. He looked up to see Wally poking at him and shouting to him from the surface. He heard someone shouting to Artemis about him being at the 'bottom' and 'go get dad'. Curiously, he went up to the surface to figure out what was going on. When he surfaced, Wally jumped back in shock.

"Wally, what's wrong?" Kaldur asked nonchalantly.

"Wally! Is Kaldur- oh my gosh!" Artemis said as she stopped dead in her tracks when she came into the room.

Bruce, Alfred, and Dick were behind her and watched as Kaldur came out of the pool.

"How is this-you-he-what!" Wally started to explain in shock.

"I think Kaldur can explain," Bruce said with a small smile to Kaldur.

"This is a long tale." Kaldur said as the spot light came on him.

"I believe that this should be explained in the dining hall," Alfred said as he gave Kaldur a towel.

"Of course," Kaldur agreed as he took the towel and dried off.

They went to the dining hall and sat down to talk. He told them the story of him being raised in Atlantis and his half human half atlantean DNA. Kaldur already told Bruce half of the story so some things that he said came to a shock to Bruce. Kaldur kept some things out of his story. For example, more details on why he can't stand Aquaman. Like he told Bruce, he didn't want others to be involved with his own personal issues.

Wally had questions for him about Atlantis. He didn't believe in Kaldur's abilities in the mystic arts. Kaldur idd a small demonstration with a glass of water. He made it come out of the glass and made it into a ice flower for Artemis. Even then Wally still didn't believe in his powers. One thing they agreed on that it didn't change anything about their love for Kaldur. They still loved him like family.

Seven months went by and Artemis was in school in the fall. Bruce came up with a remedy to help Kaldur cover his gills when they went out in public. Alfred went to the store to buy Kaldur a whole new wardrobe as a surprise. You should have seen the look on KAldur's face when he looked in his closet to see a whole rack full of new clothes and all kinds of shoes on his clothes floor laid neatly out for him. He ran down the stairs and gave both BRuce and Alfred a hug huge and about fifteen million thank yous.

After a few weeks went by, Kaldur finally became legal son. It took some doing and even Batman had to make Kaldur's paper says that he was a legal citizen of the United States. He asked Kaldur to come to his office and told him about the adoption. Kaldur stood like a statue when he told him. His smiled became so bright that it put the sun to shame. He started to cry with joy as he started to shake. Bruce opened his arms for him and Kaldur leapt into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder. Kaldur was finally free. When they pulled away, Kaldur wiped the tears in his tears from his eyes.

"For so many years I-I gave up on hope. I prayed and I prayer for a miracle. But instead, I received a guardian angel," Kaldur said as he wiped his eyes and tried to keep his voice calm. "Thank you Mr-Bruce. Thank you for saving me," He added as he took his hand and squeezed it tightly.

Bruce got down on his knee and squeezed his hand.

"You're welcome," Bruce said as Kaldur hugged him again. "Kaldur, how would you like to be a hero?" He asked with a small smile.

Kaldur looked at him with a confused look at first then a small smile and a look of understanding appeared. Bruce talked it over with the other and they agreed to let Kaldur become a hero. From that day forward, Tempest born.

 **THE END OF CHPT 4**


	6. The Tale of M'gann M'orzz

M'gann do this! M'gann watch your sisters! M'gann stop daydreaming! M'gann! She heard this every day for the past ten years. She never has a solid moment to herself. She had to hide the fact that she was a white martian from the rest of her people because she would be an outcast in their society. That kind of thing takes a toll on you after a while, both mentally and emotionally. M'gann had enough with the abuse she suffered with her parents and siblings, even with her very own uncle. She was done with the glares and stares from her own kind when she went out with her siblings and the ridicule of others all because of the fact that she was a white martian instead of a green martian like everyone else. M'gann wanted out of her house and off of her planet.

One night, after listening to her parents complaining about why they had a white martian instead of a green one and what they did to deserve her, she was able to escape out of her bedroom window. M'gann was fleeing from this planet to a new world where she could live in peace. She heard of a planet called earth from her uncle from when he told her family stories of his time with the League. He is still a League member and she thought that it was a chance to start over. She knew it was going to be a long trip but it was worth it to escape Mars. M'gann flew to earth. It took her weeks to get there but she finally got there.

All she wanted was to live the life that she heard from her uncle that he told her sisters. She wanted to go to school, have friends, even fall in love. All of those things she knew she would never achieve on Mars. When she finally spotted earth, she was amazed to see how beautiful it was. This was going to be her new home now. She turned to look back at her path she took. Part of her wanted to go back to the safety of her home, but another part of her told her to keep moving forward. She was so close to the future that she could almost taste it. There was no turning back now.

It took her several hours for her to make a safe landing on a rooftop of an apartment building. She noticed that it was the middle of the night when she made her landed on the roof. She was able to see the whole city skyline. Her eyes sparkled in wonder and awe when she saw the shining moon, to the twinkling stars above, to the peaceful and the quiet of the night. As she admired the night sky and the city skyline, Artemis, Robin, Speedy, and Tempest spotted her. It's not everyday that you see a green girl on the rooftop of a building. They approached her carefully just in case she was a hostile alien, but somehow the strange girl spotted them and turned to them.

M'gann heard the thoughts of one of the three strangers, something along the lines of pizza and turned to face them. She instantly became nervous and scared and took off flying. They took off running after her. Robin contacted Batman and told him about their situation. Batman said that he would catch up with them when he was finished with Penguin. They followed her for about ten city blocks until Speedy caught up with her.

"Stop now! We just want to talk!" He shouted to her.

She didn't listen to him as fear took over her logic. M'gann was able to stop him with her powers and shot off like a rocket down the street and became invisible. While our heroes look around in confusion as to where she disappeared off to, M'gann reappeared and changed her shape look like an elderly woman with grey hair and blue eyes. She makes her way down the sidewalk and went to hide in an alley. When the coast was clear, she exhaled heavily before changing back into her green martian form. She felt a finger tap her shoulder, which caused her to jump and almost let out a scream before a black gloved hand covered her mouth.

Batman was on the other side of town working on a case involving a nearby robbery and the thieves turn into green slime when an alert appeared on his screen in the Batmobile. He looked it up to see that Wally's speedometer was at high levels. This only happened when he used his superspeed. Bruce didn't see much of a deal until the numbers increased rapidly. Batman finally caught up with his kids location and saw from a rooftop an elderly woman go down an alley and changed into a young green girl. He came up behind her carefully and tapped her shoulder. Before she screamed, he covered her mouth with his hand.

"I am going to move my hand from your mouth, but I am asking you to not scream. Am I understood?" Batman said in a demanding and stern voice as the others caught up with him.

She nodded her head quickly as tears started to slowly roll down her cheeks.

"Shh, Don't cry. We're not going to hurt you," Batman said in a soft voice as he slowly removed his hand.

" _Please don't hurt me!"_ M'gann begged desperately in his mind.

Batman as taken back by this. His mind instantly went to Martian Manhunter and his powers of telepathy and telekinesis, This was one of J'onn's niece. He told Bruce about her only a handful of times.

" _It's okay. We're not going to hurt you,"_ He replied to her in the mind link.

" _Why should I trust you?"_ She asked as she backed herself against the wall.

" _You don't. I have to earn that. I'm sure that my kids will keep you safe. How about you come with us_ _so that we_ _can ask you some questions?"_ Bruce explained.

M'gann read his mind and was able to see that his attentions were pure. She nodded her head in agreement and took Batman's hand. They took their new found ally back to the cave and sat her down on the medical table. Wally became fast friends with her and was chatting up a storm with her. Artemis became friendly with her and tried to shut Wally up for more than a millisecond. All Dick did was laugh even now and again when Wally and Artemis started to bicker again. Batman sent the kids upstairs to change and to do their homework.

Kaldur had a feeling about this stranger. He knew an abused child when he saw one. He saw the signs in her body language. He went up to his father to ask if he could talk to her privately. Bruce knew that Kaldur finished his homework early so he allowed it. Bruce got Kaldur enrolled in the same school as the other kids. Dick was in fifth grade while Wally, Artemis, and Kaldur were in sixth grade. Dick was flying through his grades so he was ahead of the others in the school. He went upstairs and allowed Kaldur to talk to her alone.

Kaldur took a seat next to her but allowed her to have her space.

"Can I ask you your name?" Kaldur asked calmly.

"I'm M'gann M'orzz," She answered.

"I am Kaldur'ahm but you can me Kaldur," He said keeping his voice calm.

"Is he going to hurt me?" M'gann asked in a soft trembling whisper.

"Can I be really honest with you?" Kaldur asked.

"Yes," She said.

"If my f-mentor really wanted to hurt you, you would have been harmed and in prison already," Kaldur explained.

M'gann actually believe him by the tone of his voice and the stern look on his face.

"M'gann, I promise you that you are safe here. I will protect you. I give you my word. In order for me to protect you, you must tell me why and what you are running from. You can trust me. How about I will tell you something about myself the you tell me something about yourself? Do we have a deal?" Kaldur explained as this idea came to his head,

"Okay," She said as she nodded her head.

"Do you want me to go first?" He asked.

She nodded her head with a small hum.

"Well, I am twelve years old," He started simply.

"I am ten years old," She said.

"My favorite color is blue," He said.

"I honestly don't know my favorite is color. I like them all I guess," She said causally.

"My parents were violent to me," Kaldur admitted with a long sigh.

"My family treats me different because of my skin color," M'gann admitted as her body started to shake.

"Why?" Kaldur asked.

"You have to tell me something first," M'gann told him.

"Do not tell my siblings but, I am slightly fearful of the dark. I am trying to get over it," Kaldur admitted shockingly in a small whisper.

This makes her smile at him lightly. It was amazing to see someone that looked tough was actually afraid of something so simple and childish.

"Now going back to my question," Kaldur said as he tried to change the subject.

"I am not like my parents and my sisters or my uncle for that matter. They treat me like a monster all because of my skin color. I wanted to get out while I had the chance. I left my home and travel here to Earth," She explained as her voice became quiet yet filled with rage.

"I came from Atlantis, and before you can ask, yes it is real," He said with a small smirk at his own remark.

"I come from Mars," She said as her voice went to a normal tone.

" _Now I have heard everything,"_ Kalur thought with a small smile.

"I heard that," M'gann said with a knowing look.

"How do did you know?" Kaldur asked.

"I am a telephapath. I can read mind," M'gann explained.

"I have studied in hydrokinesis and I have some knowledge of how to control the water in a person," Kaldur explained.

"Cool! Can you show me?" M'gann asked excitedly with a small smile.

Kaldur got up and walked to the sink. He poured water into his hand and carried it back to his seat with M'gann. He blew lightly in his hand and a tall ice cube was formed. He moved the cube to his left hand and used his right hand to snap three times around the cube.

"Now, tap it three times. Softly," Kaldur ordered in a soft kind voice.

M'gann did what she was told without hesitation. The ice shattered instantly and an ice sculpture of a bellarine was created. Kaldur brushed off the ice debris around the figurine sculpture and passed it to M'gann.

"A gift," Kaldur said simply as he took her hand and placed it in her green soft palm.

"It's beautiful. Thank you," She said as she admires the ice figurine.

Bruce came down forty five minutes later to see Kaldur and M'gann sitting on the table talking and laughing. He smiled at them and watched from a distance for several long minutes. M'gann didn't hear Bruce's thoughts when he came into the room. When she looked up to see him, she jumped slightly and hugged Kaldur's arm.

"It is alright M'gann. It is just my mentor," Kaldur reassured her.

"You can call me Bruce um..." He started looking at Kaldur for a name.

"M'gann," Kaldur said as he rubbed her back.

"M'gann. A beautiful name for a beautiful young lady," Bruce said with a small smile.

"Thank you," M'gann said with a tiny blush.

"It also seems foreign. Where are you from?" Bruce asked a knowing question.

"Mars. You might know my uncle. J'onn J'onzz," M'gann said.

"I know him. Do you want me to call him for you?" Bruce asked.

"No! You can't call him! He'll send me back to Mars! I don't want to go back there! Please I beg of you!" M'gann begged as she started to shake with fear while clinging to Kaldur's arm tightly.

"It's alright. You are not going back with him. I promised you that I would keep you safe. The same promise I make to my brothers and my sister. Okay. Just relax," Kaldur said soothingly as he wrapped her in a hug.

She started to sob in his chest as her body started to tremble due to her sobs. A full thirty minutes went by until she ended up crying herself to sleep. Kaldur picked her up in his arms protectively and carried her to the elevator. He carried her all the way to a guest room. He took off her cape and tucked her in bed. He walked to the door and turned off the lights.

"You can not send her back to her uncle. She is suffering through mental and emotional abuse from basically everyone she knows. She is different from the people on her planet. She has simply refused to tell me how she is different though," Kaldur explained in his brotherly protective voice.

"You can prove that?" Bruce asked.

"She told me out of her own mouth. I told- no, I promise her that I would keep her safe. Did I lie to her father?" Kaldur asked as he suddenly began to mentally judge his words to protect her from those who wanted to harm her.

"You didn't. You have school in the morning, get some sleep," Bruce ordered as he placed a kiss on Kaldur's head.

"Good night father," Kaldur said as he went to his room.

Bruce went to his office and sat in his chair with a long heavy sigh. Alfred sat down in the chair in front and got ready to play therapist.

"What is wrong Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

"I am worried about M'gann. Her uncle should know that his niece is missing and now she's safe in my care," Bruce explained feeling conflicted.

"Should you have done that for Master Wally with Flash?" Alfred asked playing the devil's advocate.

"His situation was different. I need to actually talk to her. She actually seems to have bonded with Kaldur," Bruce explained.

"Maybe you can ask Master Kaldur to get Ms. M'gann to trust you. From what Master Wally, Dick, and Ms. Artemis is that she seems to be a friendly person," Alfred explained.

"She seems scared and shy. You should have seen the look on her face when I mentioned her uncle. I have never seen a child so scared, besides Wally," Bruce explained as he felt pity for her.

"What are you going to do?" Alfred asked a knowing question.

"I want to know more about her first before I do anything else," Bruce decided as he got up and headed to his room to rest up for tomorrow.

Then next day, Alfred got the kids to school while Bruce took the day off to be with M'gann. Kaldur went to M'gann room and told her that he had to leave for school but he would be back later on in the day. M'gann was nervous about Kaldur leaving for school since she didn't have a relationship with Bruce like she was with him, but she trusted Kaldur. Alfred told her to come down to breakfast when she was ready. She debated on whether or not going downstairs for a good ten minutes until she finally decided to go down to the dining hall. She walked, well floated, down the stairs and looked around the room for Alfred.

"Alfred went to drop off the kids for school," A man's voice said as she jumped in shock of the voice before turning around.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Bruce said as he puts his coffee and newspaper on the table.

"It's okay. I should have sensed you coming," M'gann said fearfully.

"Hey you can have a seat," Bruce said as he motioned to the chair he pulled out.

M'gann flew to the chair immediately but she took a seat two chairs away from Bruce. He wanted to encourage her to sit closer to him but she was nervous, scared, and unsure of Bruce.

"So, what would you like to eat?" Bruce asked trying to start a conversation with her.

"I don't know. What can I have?" M'gann asked hesitantly.

"How about I make you a bowl of cereal and then we can move forward from there? Is that okay?" Bruce asked as he became hesitant as he stood up from his chair.

Bruce had zero clue on how to handle M'gann. When Artemis came into his world, she was a very dominant person. Artemis was firm and knew what she wanted and made sure it was done. She does not allow anyone to help her with anything. She only asked Bruce for help when she didn't understand anything school related.

With M'gann though, she is much more submissive. M'gann was looking for approval by him. Bruce came back in the dining hall and found the room empty. Bruce began to panic and placed the bowl of cereal and the cup of orange juice on the table.

"M'gann, where are you?" Bruce asked as he started to look around the room and under the table.

After a good five minutes of looking, he heard a soft whimpering noise from down the hall. He walked down the hall as quietly as he could and listened again. He heard a soft whimper again and realized that it was coming from under the table. It sound like a dog or maybe even a cat. The last time he check, he didn't have either of those. He crouched down and looked under the table. He saw a green kitten with huge red eyes curled in a small ball whimpering quietly. He felt pity for her.

"M'gann, it's okay. You can come out. Don't you want your cereal?" Bruce said as he tried to coax her out.

M'gann came out from under the table and transformed but to her green human form. She took his hand and allowed Bruce to take her to the dining hall. She took her seat in her chair and looked curiously at the bowl of cereal filled with milk.

Bruce smiled lightly at her curious look.

"Here, open up," Bruce said as he picked up some cheerios and milk on the spoon and held it to her lips.

M'gam hesitantly opened her mouth and took the spoon in her mouth. She chewed on the cereal then swallowed. Her eyes widen in shock to feel the cold milk going down her throat.

"Do you like it?" Bruce asked with a small smile.

"Yes," M'gann said with a small smile.

"How about you finish the bowl and I'll ask you some questions," Bruce said as he gives her the spoon.

"Okay," M'gann said happily as she took the spoon and ate her cereal happily.

Bruce watched her as she ate her cereal. To Bruce, she looked like a innocent little girl as her legs were swinging happily as she ate, since her legs couldn't reach the ground.

"M'gann, is it okay that I ask you some questions?" Bruce asked.

"Can I still eat my cereal?" She asked nervously.

"Of course," Bruce said.

M'gann continued to eat her cereal as Bruce began to ask her some questions.

"M'gann, where are you from?" He asked curiously.

"Mars. But I think you already know that," M'gann said in a casual tone.

"Yes, but I am not going to lie to you. I know you can read my mind so you can tell if I am lying to you," Bruce said honestly.

"I am glad that you will not lie to me," M'gann said happily.

"Why don't you want me to tell your uncle about you?" Bruce asked.

M'gann stopped dead in her chair. She then put her spoon in the bowl as her hand started to shake. With the hand that wasn't shaking, she picked up the glass of orange juice and took a few small sips. When she swallowed the juice she took a deep breath before speaking.

"My uncle may look to be an understanding person but he really is not. He is closed minded like my parents," M'gann explained with a depressed tone.

"Do you know why?" He asked curiously.

"He despises the White Martian race like everyone else. I know that they have done evil things to the Green Martians but that doesn't make them all bad," M'gann explained.

"Are you a White Martian?" Bruce asked.

"No. I just don't agree with how they treat them. We learned ever since we were young that they killed off the Green Martians to feed off their power but that's not the entire case. They were scared of what would happen to themselves if they did not appease their superior. No one ever thinks to look behind the skin and try to figure out why they did what they did. They just assume that all White Martians are evil. That is not true. I just don't believe that," M'gann explained as she became depressed.

"That is very deep and wise for someone so young," Bruce said as he suddenly was washed over with a sense of pride for her.

"Thank you. Also thank you for listening. No one listens to children on Mars," M'gann said with a small smile.

"No idea why. You seem like a very smart young lady," Bruce said with a small smile.

"Thank you. Mr. Wayne, what is going to happen to me?" M'gann asked worriedly.

"Do you want to stay here with us? We have plenty of room and amazing food," Bruce offered.

"Really?" M'gann asked in shock.

"Of course. the more the merry in this house," Bruce said with a small chuckle.

M'gann squealed with joy as she leapt in his arms. She started to cry happily in his arms.

"Yes!" She shouted as she squeezed him tightly.

Bruce smiled at her happiness. He hugged her back tightly and kissed her head. He stroked her long hair gently as she cried tears of joy. Time got the better of them as Alfred came home a couple minutes later from dropping off the kids.

"Master Bruce is Ms. M'gann alright?" Alfred asked slightly worried.

"M'gann, tell Alfred the good news," Bruce encouraged as he patted her lightly on her shoulder.

"I'm going to stay!" M'gann said excitedly as she turned to face him while jumping up and down excitedly.

"Well that's marvelous news Ms. M'gann! I'll make you some pancakes to celebrate," Alfred said happily as he gave her a genuine smile.

"Can I help? I have always wanted to try cooking," M'gann asked keeping her excited tone to a minimum.

"Of course. I'm always opened to help," Alfred said as he held his hand to her.

M'gann followed Alfred to the kitchen and helped make two pancakes for herself and Bruce. It took a good forty-five minutes and one burnt pancake later before she came back with two perfectly made pancakes. She put one pancake on the plate for herself and one for Bruce as Alfred carried the butter and the syrup to the table.

"Wow, M'gann did you make them?" Bruce asked in a usual proud parental tone of voice.

"It took only a whole burnt pancake later, but I finally got it. Alfred helped me with the stove," M'gann explained proudly.

"They look delicious! I can't wait to try them," Bruce said as he went to cut into the fluffy golden brown pancakes.

The pancakes were actually good for M'gann's first time cooking on earth. They ate breakfast happily and talked about M'gann life and the rules at the manor. He gave her a tour of the manor and by the time they finished, he took her shopping for clothes. She transformer into a caucasian girl with long red hair and freckles littering her cheeks. She was wearing a white blouse, jeans, and red sneakers, remembering what both Artemis and Wally wore to school.

They went shopping at the mall and Bruce had to keep a low profile to avoid any cameras. He bought her shirts, dresses, pants, and shoes. After two hours of shopping, Alfred took them home and put her things in her closets and drawers. By the time they finished putting away the clothes, Alfred came back with the kids from school. Time got away from them since they spent most of the time having fun and laughing. When M'gann heard Wally's thoughts about food, she ran down stairs, still wearing what she wore to the mall.

"Hi Wally! Hi Kaldur! Hi Dick! Hi Artemis!" She said excitedly as she hugged each of them by name.

"Hello M'gann," Kaldur said as he hugged her back tightly.

"Is M'gann coming to live with us?" Wally asked hopefully.

"Yes," Bruce said as he walked down the stairs.

"Awesome! A girl in the family that's nice to me!" Wally said happily as he did a little dance.

"It's stupid things you say that make me want to hurt you," Artemis said as she slapped his arms.

"Rule number one Meg, don't listen to Wally. Your life will go a lot easier if you ignore him," She added as she placed her arm around her shoulder.

"Come on you two. Let's not argue in front of M'gann. She is still new to our home," Kaldur said as he separated the two arguing siblings.

"By the smile on her face, I think that she'll fit in nicely," Dick said as he wrapped his arm around M'gann waist.

Two months went by as Artemis' thirteenth birthday passed by a few weeks ago, M'gann made herself at home in the Wayne Manor. Kaldur watched over her, while Artemis took her under her wing. Wally talked to her non-stop for hours. Megan somehow was able to keep up with him. She actually seemed to enjoy his words and jokes. Dick treated her like a big sister and showed her things that were done on earth.

One day, M'gann or now called Megan, accidently did something a little dangerous. She accidentally went inside Kaldur's head. It was when Kaldur was asleep in his room around midnight, it was an honest to God accident. She didn't mean to look too deep in his mind. She didn't mean to tap at any old memories that has long been buried deep inside his mind.

 _A loud shatter rang throughout the room. She saw Kaldur trying to pick up the shattered pieces of the glass plate he accidentally dropped. As he tried to pick the_ _shattered pieces of glass_ _up from the ground,_ _he was soon kicked in the face by a black shoes._

" _Ju budalla budalla! Ju jeni të paaftë! Ju jeni një turp për familjen tonë!" (You are an idiot. You are a fool. You are a disgrace to our family) The man shouted as he struck him repeatedly._

 _"b-baba të lutem! Stop!" (f-father please! Stop!) Kaldur begged as tears rolled down his face along with blood from his cheek and nose._

 _"Heshtja!" (Silence!) the man ordered as he slapped him._

 _The beating went on until M'gann was violently pulled out of the memory._

 **End of the memory**

Kaldur woke up with a loud screaming as M'gann tried to silently catch her breath. After taking a minute to catch her breath, she got up and flew to Kaldur's room.

She walked into his room and was shocked to see him sobbing in Bruce's arms as Wally, Dick, and Artemis tried to calm him down. M'gann walked into the room and sat on the bed next to Artemis. Kaldur's face was buried in Bruce's neck as sobs caused his whole body to shake. Bruce rubbed his back slowly and tried to calm him down.

"Kal, it's okay. Just relax. It's okay. I have you now. Just calm down. Relax Kaldur," Bruce whispered softly in Kaldur's ear as he rubbed his back softly.

"What happened? Talk to me?" Bruce asked softly.

"It wasn't my fault. I tried so hard to be good, but I just kept failing baba," Kaldur said as he cuddled closer to Bruce.

"I know. It's okay. It's not your fault," Bruce said as he rubbed his back.

"This is my fault," M'gann whispered softly.

"What did you do?" Artemis asked in a soft growl.

"My powers. I accidentally went into his mind and I pulled out that memory," M'gann admitted fearfully.

"Meg! You can't just invade people's minds like that," Artemis scolded angrily.

"I'm sorry," M'gann said as tears swell in her eyes.

"Artemis stop. Megan is still learning how to control her powers. I know you did not mean to do it Megan, it's okay," Kaldur said as he moved from Bruce sides.

"Kaldur, I'm sorry. I promise to control them better," Megan promise as she got off the bed and gave him a hug.

M'gann held him tightly as she was still filled to the brim with guilt over what had happened.

Over the next few months all of the Waynes tried and helping M'gann with her power. Kaldur taught her how to meditate and relax in order to control her powers. Artemis taught her how to use her powers to attack things. Dick taught her how to link their minds together so that they could communicate. Wally simply confronted her when she was feeling down about her training. Bruce allowed her to become Miss Martian after two years of training.

Bruce was able to make M'gann his legal daughter. When he told her, M'gann smiled and gave Bruce a million and one thanks along with hugs. He sat in his office, enjoying the silence due to everyone being asleep, it was around midnight at the time, when he told himself that he was done adopting kids, let's just see if that turns out to be true.

 **End of Chpt 5**


	7. The Tale of Connor Kent

The years went by and Dick was now thirteen, M'gann was fifteen and a half, Artemis was sixteen, Kaldur was also sixteen, and Wally was turning fifteen in December. It was a the day before Batman was going to show them the Hall of Justice. There was one small problem; for appearances, the kids have to be with their respected 'mentors'. Wally was furious, M'gann was scared and depressed, Kaldur went completely mute while Artemis was slightly excited and anxious to meet Green Arrow.

The night before ceremony, Wally and Bruce got into another argument over this topic.

"Why should I go with Flash?" Wally asked again.

"We need to keep the appearance of the League interacting with their protégés. People will start asking questions if we don't." Bruce explained.

"He hasn't given a crap about me, why should I go with him to help him out. What if he takes me back with them." Wally explained as the fear of being sent with his parents came back in his mind.

"Wally is not that far off base father. I do not wish to see the king of Atlantis." Kaldur admitted.

"I get that I do but we all have to make sacrifices." Bruce said slightly sympathy at his worried children.

"Daddy, I don't want to see him. I'm scared that he'll take me back to Mars." M'gann begged as she gave her classics puppy dog eyes.

"Sweetie, I promise you at he will not take you back. None of you are permanently staying with them. It's just a couple of hours with them and then we get to the hall. Okay." Bruce asked as he hugged M'gann tightly.

"Dad, what's Green Arrow like?" Artemis asked curiously.

"He's a great archer. I'm sure you'll be fine with him. He had a protege before but he went solo about a year ago. I trust him with you Artemis. I wouldn't allow you to go with someone that I don't trust." Bruce explained as he placed a hand in her shoulder.

"Alright." Artemis said as she started to plan what she was going to bring tomorrow.

"But we don't trust them. Shouldn't that count for something?" Wally asked.

"It does Wally. I will always have eyes on you. I am Batman after all." Bruce said with a small chuckle to lighten the mood.

"Okay. I won't like it but I'll deal with it." Wally said with slight anger and regret in his voice.

"Me too." M'gann said as she nodded.

"Kaldur, you okay?" Bruce asked slightly worried.

Kaldur shook his head as he bit his lower lip from his seat on the couch. Bruce moved from M'gann and went to his obviously distraught son and sat down next to him.

"Talk to me." Bruce said as he placed his arm around him.

"I have not see Aquaman since I left. I honestly do not know if I can face him." Kaldur explained.

"I know it is hard, but you have to be brave. I understand that going with them will be scary for some of you but you have to. The second I get done with the League, I will take you all home." Bruce explained as he tried to bring some comfort to his eldest.

"Okay." Kaldur said after a long pause and he leaned on Bruce's shoulder.

Bruce wrapped his arms around him tightly and placed a small kiss on his forehead. He stood up and placed a hand on Dickie's shoulder.

"We have a long day tomorrow. Get some sleep." Bruce said as he hugged each of his kids and placed a kiss on the each of their foreheads.

"Night dad." They said as he they headed upstairs after saying a quick goodnight to Alfred.

The next day, they were getting dressed in their uniforms, taking forever, not wanting to go at all. The only good thing about this is that they get to see the League Headquarters.

Batman took his kids to the Hall of Justice to drop them off the other members. When they arrived, the League was already there waiting for them. They did not know who they were behind the mask of Batman's protégés but the looks on their faces said it all.

Aquaman looked at Tempest carefully and tried to remember where he saw him before. He just couldn't place the location. Kaldur did everything physically possible not to look at him in the eye.

Manhunter knew that Miss Martian was his niece, but decided against saying anything. He would deal with this matter with Batman later.

Flash honestly didn't recognize Speedy at first. It took him looking into his eyes to figure it out. Wally has always had soft yet vibrant eyes. That was the first thing at Barry noticed about Wally when he was born.

"Wally! You're alright!" He said happily as he sped over to him and hugged him tightly.

Wally didn't return the embrace at all, but he didn't push him away.

"What happened to you? What did Batman do to you? Are you okay?" Flash asked rapidly as he sent Batman cold stare.

"So now you care." Wally said as he could not longer hold himself back.

"What do you mean? I have always cared about you. I looked everywhere when you went missing." Flash explained as he looked confused.

"Did you care when I told you of the abuse?" Wally demanded angrily.

"I told you that I would handle it. I never saw or found a single mark on you." Flash tried to defend himself.

"You simply stopped looking. So I started to cover them up. Hell you did even look at first!" Wally exclaimed angrily.

"Enough." Batman ordered bluntly.

The two arguing family members stopped instantly.

"The purpose of this meeting is to hand off my protégés to you for show. The minute the ceremony is over and I finish with the League, I will be taking them home." Batman explained in his rare stern voice.

"We're not done here." Flash said with determination.

"I know. This is not your call. Now you all have cities to patrol, and Flash, try not to be late." Batman explained as he placed a comforting hand on Wally's shoulder.

"It's okay. Go on." Batman said in his usual loving father tone.

Kaldur tried to calm down as he walked to Aquaman. Aquaman tried to place a hand on his shoulder but Kaldur moved away before he could.

M'gann took her time going to her uncle. She wanted nothing to do with him. They shared a mental mind link and talked to each other in a calm tone.

Wally walked to Flash and tried to avoid his touch.

Artemis walked to Green Arrow and inspected him carefully. She didn't feel a dangerous presence off him but she still kept her ground.

Of course, Dick stayed with Batman since his skills match more with Batman plus he was his original partner.

They headed to their destinated locations while Batman and Robin went back to Gotham. The Icicle Family was on a rampage throughout Gotham.

"You know that no one is happy about this." Robin said when they arrived back in Gotham.

"I know." Batman said feeling slightly guilty.

"You think that they'll get over it?" Robin asked.

"Possibly." Batman said as they made their way to the roof tops.

"Do you honestly think that they'll be okay?" Robin asked as he followed next to him.

"I hope so. I did teach them after all." Batman said as he saw Icicle heading to the park.

Aquaman and Tempest were somewhere near the Arctic Circle and Aquaman tired to make a conversation with Kaldur. Kaldur, of course, was polite and answered his questions, trying not to be rude, answer too quickly, or too blunt with his answers. Aquaman asked him a question that he had to be extra careful on.

"Where are you from?" such a basic question but so complicated to answer. He could have gone several ways of answering it.

"Where I am from is a long story?" Kaldur answered simply.

"I know you are from Atlantis but I would like to know where?" Aquaman explained.

"Shayaris." Kaldur said a she kept his eyes forward.

"What of your parents?" Aquaman asked curiously.

"They are dead." Kaldur said slightly lying.

"I am sorry. Why would you come to the surface?" Aquaman asked curiously.

"I needed a fresh start." Kaldur said simply.

"Have we met before?" Aquaman finally asked the burning question.

"I do not believe we have." Kaldur lied as he heard cries of distress coming from the surface.

They swam up to see that the problem was.

Green Arrow and Artemis

Artemis and Green Arrow were in the middle of a fight one of the many Icicles and they decided this is the perfect opportunity to make conversation.

"So Artemis-how old are you?" Green Arrow asked as he shot off an arrow.

"Sixteen," she answered as she ducked from the ice.

"When did you start being a hero?" He asked as he ducked and tried to avoid getting hit.

"When I was around twelve. When did you start?" She asked as she flipped out of the way and took a shot mid flight.

"A few years ago. Took a new look on life. How did you get set up with Bats? No offense but I don't see you working with the Dark Knight." Green Arrow asked as he let out a small chuckle.

"He took me in. I guess I picked up on the family trade." She said as she took her last shot at his helmet.

When he fell to the ground and passed out, Green Arrow had a small smile on his face.

"Nice work. I wouldn't mind working with you again." Green Arrow said as he patted her shoulder.

She smiled slightly at the praise and put the bow back in her sack with her other arrows.

Flash and Speedy

Flash and Speedy were racing around the city till they spotted Captain Cold. Flash tried to talk to Speedy but every time he tried, he would get tuned out. When they started to fight Captain Cold, Wally started his usual banter on him. Barry started to snicker at the words and soon took him down.

"Are we done yet?" Speedy asked.

"Calm down kid." Flash said.

"No way, You'll chat it up with the cops. Civilians. Cold even. Now way! Today's the day." Speedy said excitedly.

"Alright, let's go." Flash said as he placed Cold in the squad car that pulled up.

They dashed to the Hall of Justice.

Manhunter and Miss Martian

Both of our Martians were walking around Chicago, minding their own business, minding their own business, but in their own mind link they were fighting a mental war. You would get a headache by listening to them.

"Why did you leave Mars?! You are too young to live here by yourself!" J'onzz demanded angrily.

"I was tired of mother and father treating me like a servant. It was M'gann do this. M'gann do that. M'gann make sure you still green at the market. I was tired being told to not be who I am. Earth was my only option to get away from that." M'gann explained.

"Why did you not tell me? I would have helped you." J'onn asked in bewilderment.

"I tried to but every time I tired you had to leave or I had to do something else." M'gann answered.

"M'gann, your parents have made no contact with me about you. This angers me deeply. From what I have seen, you have done amazing things. I have a feeling you will do amazing things in the future." J'onn explained honestly.

"Does this mean I can stay?" She asked getting hopefully excitedly.

"Yes. But I expect you to call me once or twice a week." J'onn reasoned as she squealed with hugging him tightly.

"Thank you so much uncle. Wait, I can stay with daddy?" M'gann asked slightly worried.

"You mean Bruce?" J'onn asked confused.

"Yes. Please. He takes care of me and I don't want to leave my brothers and sister. And he saved my life." M'gann begged.

"Of course you can. If that is what you want." J'onn said while he wrapped his arm around his niece lovingly and headed to the zeta beam.

After the introduction of the team with the League, the Team realized that they've been tricked. They were never going to the actual Headquarters. After they argued with Batman, they were ordered not to get involved with the sun mission. Too dangerous, Batman said before taking his departure.

"I can't believe that Dad lied to us." Wally said in frustration.

"Guys, check this out." Robin said in wonder while looking at the screen.

"Isn't that the Cadmus science lab." Artemis asked.

"Yeah. It'll turn to science ash if we don't stop it." Robin joked with a small chuckle.

"But Batman said.." Kaldur started to repeat.

"Not to go on the Sun Mission. He said nothing about stopping fires. Come Kal." Wally reasoned.

Kaldur smirked slightly and nodded in agreement. They headed to the location of the fire and handled it with grace and style, as Wally would say. After they dealt with the fire, Robin being the curious bird, looks around to see what Cadmus is up too.

"Guys, I think I just found our first mission." Robin said with a small grin of excitement.

(I'm skipping ahead to when the Leagues finds the team in Cadmus rubble so I'm sorry about and also go look at the first ep on Netflix or Hulu or Youtube or Itunes. Thanks!)

The Team and their new found ally, Superboy, watched as the League came down and landed in front of them. They already knew that they would get an earful from Batman at home but they had to deal with the League first.

"You all deliberately defied our orders to remain at the Hall and look at what happens." Superman scowled.

"We know this. We also know that we are not your sidekicks." Kaldur said trying to his voice polite as possible.

"Stand down Tempest." Aquaman ordered firmly.

"My apologizes, my liege, but no." Kaldur said with a small hint of venom in his voice.

"We already became heros the second you allowed us to become your proteges. We can't be your sidekicks forever." Wally explained while stepping next to Kaldur.

"If you knew this would happen, which I know for a fact that you knew, then why did you even train us at all. You always knew that we would want to make a name for ourselves. If you knew this would happen then tell me Bats why did you even tell us to become your proteges at all." Robin demanded while stepping next to him.

The League was left slightly frustrated and even more shocked by Robin's words. Clark just stared at Superboy with slight fear and wonder. He made a small step to him but was cautious. He went to pick up creature and looked everywhere but at Superboy.

"We'll-um-we'll figure out something for you," Superman said while he took off to Belle Rive with Wonder Woman behind him.

Superboy looked down in shame and clenched his fist angrily. Kaldur placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Batman agreed to take Superboy home until they prepared a room for him at Mt. Justice. Batman took his kids home and they prepare for the hour long lecture that was soon to come.

At the Batcave

"I ordered you to stay at the Hall and you disobeyed me! What if something happened to any of you? What if a civilian got hurt!" Bruce shouted angrily.

"You said don't go on the sun mission. You didn't say anything about stopping a fire." Wally explained.

"That's not the point!" Bruce retorted.

"Were you ever going to tell us about the real League Headquarters?" Dick asked angrily.

"You weren't suppose to know yet. You are still too young." Bruce argued while he sat down in frustrated.

"Then why did you train us at all!" Artemis asked angrily.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked slightly confused.

'Did you honestly believe that we would be your sidekicks forever?" M'gann asked timidly.

"No, but," Bruce tried to argue.

"But what,you don't wish for be true heros. Tell us the truth father!" Kaldur spat out angrily.

"I-of course I do." Bruce said after a short pause.

"Dad, you trained us so we could be the best heroes in the world. If you honestly wanted us to be heros, then why are you so angry at us?" Dick asked trying to keep a calm tone.

"Cause, you are my kids! It's my job to keep you safe. I wouldn't have forgiven myself it any of you got hurt tonight. I want you all to become amazing heroes. I honestly do. But I can not bear the thought of losing my kids due to my choices. I won't do it. I would rather die than go through losing anyone else that I love." Bruce explained while his face soften as he looked at his kids.

M'gann knew that his words were true. She flew to him and hugged him tightly. He squeezed his daughter while he tried to see his nerves.

"Dad, we made this choice willingly. We know the score." Wallu said while he smiled to him.

"Father, there is a saying I saw once; "The loneliest people are the nicest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see people suffer the way this so." We chose this life father so no one else has to suffer the way we had to." Kaldur explained with a smile.

:We know what we signed up for. You made us take the oath to protect and serve the people." Artemis said placing a hand on her father's shoulder.

"Trust us dad." Dick said smiling.

Bruce smiled at his kids and swallowed them into a group hug. They stayed in the warm embrace. When they pulled away, Bruce looked to see Superboy standing in corner trying not to look depressed. M'gann established a mind link to talk without Superboy listening.

"Daddy, can we take in Superboy?" M'gann asked.

"Yeah dad. Please. Super Boy Scout won't take care of him." Wally said with a small smirk at the nickname.

"I don't know. We need to do a few test to make sure that he doesn't have any programs in him from Luthor." Bruce said uneasily.

"I already checked. Nothing." Dick said while showing Bruce the lab results.

"But knowing how protective you are father, you will check again anyway." Kaldur said with a small smile of understand.

"Please dad please." Artemis said while her usual wanting smiling.

Bruce got up and went to Superboy. He knelt down to his knee to be eye level with him. He placed his hand on Superboy's shoulder and looked him dead in the eye. Superboy didn't flinch under his stare but he was slightly nervous which showed in his eyes. Bruce sent him a small yet gentle smile which calmed his nerves.

"Superboy, my children want me to take you into our family. We may not be the most normal family in the world. But it is normal for us. And we, I, would love to accept you into my household and raise you like I raise the rest of my children. But the decision is yours. The League will have you set up at Mt. Justice if you do not wish to stay with us." Bruce explained while smiling to him in a fatherly manner.

Superboy thought this over for several long minutes. He never really understood the concept of a family. He looked at the kids and smile softly to them. He liked them. Especially Kaldur since he was the one who talked him out of staying at Cadmus. He nodded to them before looking at Bruce.

"Yes. I would like to stay with you." Superboy agreed while smiling brightly.

"Awesome!' "Yes!" "Wonderful!" Were shouted throughout the cave while they go to hug him and talk to him.

"We need a name for you Superboy. A Civilian name." Kaldur explained as names ran through their heads.

"How about Randy?" Wally suggested.

"No." Superboy said instantly.

"Steve."

"No." 

"Alex. Marvin. Cory. David."

"No, no, no, and no."

"What about Connor? I always liked that name." M'gann suggested with a hesitant smile.

"I like that." Newly named Connor said with a small smile.

"So Connor Wayne. Nice ring to that." Wally said with a small grin.

Kaldur smiled softly and said with confidence and pride:

"Today is the day."


	8. The New Love of Yoplait

Everyone has their favorite snack. Whether they be chips, candy, vegetables, fruit, even sunflower seeds. But for the Wayne's, however, became Yoplait Yogurt. Alfred introduced Yoplait to them on accident. Wally zoomed into the larger cleaned kitchen and saw Alfred putting away the groceries. He smirked softly and super speed his way through putting away the rest of the groceries. Alfred walked into the kitchen with the rest of the groceries and Wally ran to him and put them away. After he finished, he looked inside the large restaurant style refrigerator and saw a Strawberry Yoplait Yogurt. His stomach got the better of him and he ran to get a spoon and enjoyed it while racing to his room to finish his science.

Alfred went looking for his strawberry yogurt and was surprised to only find five out of the six yogurts in theirs. Confused, he went back to the car, thinking that it fell out of the car. He saw Artemis and Kaldur came home from archery and swim practice. They greeted each other with a smile before going back in the car looking for his yogurt. The siblings went inside and went looking for a snack. Artemis found Strawberry Banana and Blueberry in the fridge and gave him Strawberry Banana, keeping the Blueberry. Soon, though, Connor and Megan came home from the study group and, like the others, went looking for a snack. Alfred never knew that they liked yogurt but watched from a distance. M'gann, Dick, and Connor came home from a car poll, provided by Barbara, and went inside straight to the kitchen looking for a quick snack. They saw what the rest were eating and decided to go and grab the same treat. M'gann grabbed Raspberry, Dick got Vanilla, and Connor grabbed Mixed Berry.

Now Alfred was really shocked. He has been trying to get them to eat healthier snacks for ages. He has never bought it for them before today. Bruce came up from the BatCave and saw jobs kids eating yogurt. He was s;lightly surprise but didn't say anything and pulled Alfred to the other room.

"You do realize that they are eating yogurt," Bruce said in surprise.

"I have never bought it for them before," Alfred added.

"Shouldn't we be happy that they are eating healthy?"

"Of course. They normally go for chips or candy, minus Kaldur. I just want to thank the person who gave them it to them the first time," they chuckled softly at Alfred's small joke.

Alfred started to buy a small basket loaded with Yoplait of all different flavors. They ate each and everyone. Soon they started to make bets in training using the last yogurt as the prize. Bruce was perfectly fine with the healthy competition between them. He even decided to keep Yoplait the Mount Justice. He would be in the Watchtower and watch his kids arguing over the last Yoplait like two-year-olds over the only unbroken crayon. He smiled softly in joy with small chuckles over their banter.

When they ran out of Yoplait it would be a problem. The kids got in the car, with Kaldur driving, and got a cart of Yoplait using one of their debit cards and coupons they found in newspapers and online. M'gann was trying to help them save money. The one who pays is the one who eats the last one. Bruce even had to buy a small refrigerator just for yogurt. But hey, as long as they were happy and fed, the cost never matter to him.


	9. Friend Like Me

No pov

It was the day of the Gotham High Showcase at school. Kaldur was nervous since this is the first performance he will do in front of his father, Bruce. This was a rare scene to behold: a nervous Kaldur. It was for a grade for his Advance Dance class. Kaldur has done several different performances for class and even at competitions, but never in front of his father. Bruce could not have come to his earlier performance but he promised Kaldur he would come. This made his extremely nervous. He made sure that every single practice was perfect. He couldn't miss a single step and if he did during practice, he would freak. Two of Kaldur's dance partners tried to soothe him as they got ready fro the performance.

"Kal, breathe and relax honey." Abby, one of his dance partners, said soothingly as she played with the 1920's style hat from the prop bin

"I know I am panicking but I want this to go over well." Kaldur defended as he nervously fixes his tie again.

"It's gonna be fine guppy. Relax." Katie, his second partner, added as she applied a light blush to her caramel skin cheeks.

"I know. I always do this and it turns out fine in the end." Kaldur said taking slow deep breaths.

"Exactly. Now let's go fishy. We have a show to do." Abby said as she kisses Kaldur's cheek and took his hand and lead him to mic check.

Bruce pov

Alfred parked the car in the back of the school and we make our way inside of the school along with several other parents. I could tell that Kaldur was extremely nervous for today's performance which is strangely unlike him. We made our way to our seats and I saw the rest of the kids int he balcony. The wait wasn't long until the light dimmed slowly and the spotlight hit surprising Richard.

"Good afternoon. My name is Richard Dick Grayson Wayne and I will be your host for this afternoon. We have many amazing talents today and we hope you enjoy. First up we have Christian Augustine playing a Lisndey Sterling Meldy." Richard explained with a small smile then walked off the stage.

As the afternoon went on, many wonderful performances went on. The tap dancing twins finished their flawless performance and the applause rang out through the auditorium. Dick graced the stage once more and took the mic.

"That was incredible Louis and Lucie. And finally for our final performance, we are going to be taking a trip to the land of our children. Back to where Disney filled our dreams. We will be taking a trip to the land of our childhood. Back to where Disney filled our lives with color and song. We will be taking a journey to Agrabah and we need out tour guide to help us. Let's bring out Kaldur, Katia, Abby, Micheal with their rendition of Friend Like Me," Richard explained as he walked off stage and silhouette of a tall figure walked out on stage.

We Love Disney: Friend Like Me Ne-Yo

The Music started to play loudly as small clips of Aladdin played on the walls. The silhouette figured started to pace back and forth in front of the microphone casually while snapping to turn on the lights. As the spotlight was turned on, the figure was Kaldur wearing a dark navy blue suit ith a black tie, a gold pocket watch that was tucked in his breast pocket with the chain slightly showing with a black hat with a navy blue band and a feather. The intro stopped and stepped in front of the microphone.

"Well, Ali Baba had them forty thieves,

Scheherazade had a thousand tales.

But master you're in luck, 'cause up your sleeves

You've got a brand of magic never fails

You've got some power in your corner now!

Some heavy ammunition in your camp!

You got some punch, pizzaz, yahoo and how.

See, all you gotta do is rub that lamp, and I'll say:

"Mr. Aladdin, sir, what will your pleasure be?

Let me take your order, jot it down?"

You ain't never had friend like me

Life is your restaurant and I'm your maitre'd

Come on whisper what it is you want;

You ain't never had a friend like me!

Yes, sir, we pride ourselves on service.

You're the boss, the king, the shah.

Say what you wish; it's yours, true dish.

How 'bout a little more baklava?"

He quickly did a simply tap dance while the crowd kept cheering and watching in awe. After a small spin, he froze with shock ridden on his face. Suddenly he jumped off the stage.

"Aaah!

Have some of column A try All of column B,

I'm in the mood to help you, dude.

You ain't never had friend like me."He did a backflip back on stage with a small spin/ He slide out to the left of him and Micheal straightened his tie with a small smirk and wink to Kaldur as the spotlight hit him. He wore a black suit with a navy blue tie and the same hat as Kaldur.

He did a backflip back on stage with a small spin/ He slide out to the left of him and Micheal straightened his tie with a small smirk and wink to Kaldur as the spotlight hit him. He wore a black suit with a navy blue tie and the same hat as Kaldur.

"Can your friends do this?"

He motioned to his hand to Micheal. He did a simple step-ball-change with a small wink to Kaldur.

"Can your friends do that?" Micheal sang while pointing to Kaldur.

He did a spin with a foot flick.

"Can your friends pull this

Out their little hat?

Can your friends go poof?"

Kaldur threw down small smoke pellets and using his skills learned by Batman was able to us the distraction to get to the aisle with Katia on the left aisle and Abby on the right with bright smiles.

"So don't just sit there slack-jawed, buggy-eyed,

I'm here to answer all your mid-day prayers," he ran down the aisle to meet with the girls at the bottom.

"You've got me bona fide certified;

You've got a genie for charge d'affaires.

I've got a powerful urge to help you out,"

Kaldur grabbed the chair and slammed it in front of Bruce with the back of the chair to him, making Kaldur having to straddle the chair, not missing a beat.

"So what you wish, I really wanna know?

You've got a list that's three miles long, no doubt,

Well, all you've gotta do is rub like so, and oh -

Mr. Aladdin, sir, have a wish or two or three.

I'm on the job, you big nabob!

You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend,

You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend,

You ain't never had a friend like me.

Hahaha

Hey hey hey You ain't never had a friend like me!" he belted loudly with a bow.

The loud cheering and clapping but his mind at ease. He stood back up with sweat glossing his face. All four dancers took one final bow before they all left the stage. Kaldur was visibly shaking with aftershock or excitement, he honestly did not know. He quickly took a seat while his group hugged him tightly. They talked about the performance like giggling teenagers talking about their crushes. They quickly moved to the balcony section of the auditorium. They watched the other performances cheering on their friends. When the show ended, they were called for their last and final bow. Afterward, they went backstage to get into their black clothes, hanging upon their costumes, to head home since school ended. Dick, Artemis, Wally, Connor, Megan, Bruce and Alfred all went backstage to find Kaldur. They knocked on the door at the Ed of the hallway and he invited them in, not knowing who it was. They came in cheering and clapping for him while Bruce gave him his flowers. They hugged him tightly and talked about the performance. Bruce just stared happily at his children with pride and happiness filling his heart. This was one of the joys of being a parent: watching your children blossom, achieve, and be happy.


	10. The Question of Family Love

The Team wasn't even supposed to be chasing the armed robber. They just finished handling an attempted kidnapping when they heard over the police radio that an armed robber robbed a liquor a few blocks away and went into action. Artemis and Aqualad followed him from rooftop to rooftop until Aqualad was able to lasso him with a water rope. They handed him over the authorities and returned the money to the owner. The owner was a short round man with cold blue eyes, tufts of hair on the side of his head, making the top of his head shiny like the hood of a new car, the stains of food and sauces littered his shirt like a pre-schooler art project. His lips curved into a mean grin like a bully finding his target. His glare could kill anyone that bothered to mess with him. Kaldur's glare was just as worse, thanks to Batman.

"Here, that's everything we could find," Artemis said while she put the bag on the counter.

"Where's the rest of it?" The owner snarled.

"That is all that the perpetrator had on him when he was apprehended," Kaldur explained.

"You didn't steal did you, nigger?" The owner sneered.

"Excuse me?" Artemis snapped.

"Well, I mean come on. Just look at that. You can't trust a monkey."

"Excuse the fuck out of you, he hasn't stolen anything in his life!"

"Artemis, it's okay. We are leaving now."

"Aqua come on-"

"Now Artemis," he took her arm gently and lightly shoved her in front of him.

They started to walk to the door, Kaldur making sure she wasn't visible to his vision.

"I wish we could go back to a time where a man like him would be short for so much as cooking at a white girl."

"Fuck you!" Artemis shouted while she turned around to see him holding a shotgun on the table.

"We are leaving. Now!" Kaldur pushed Artemis out of the store.

Artemis feel to the ground and pushed her body out of the store while three loud bangs rang loudly. The Team ran out of the Bioship to see what was going on.

"Arty!" Wally shouted while zooming to help her up off the ground.

"Kaldur's inside!" She charged inside with the others, how drawn.

They saw Kaldur with a bullet wound in his chest, another bullet in his leg and one through a bag of chips. Connor saw the man loading the gun again and charged at him, grabbing it and breaking it in half. He was able to restrain him as the police rushed into arrest him.

"Don't arrest me! Arrest the nigger! He stole from me!" He shouted while fighting the police.

The Team tried to cover the bullet holes and called for an ambulance and Batman. Artemis was sobbing along with M'gann while trying to keep him awake.

"K-k-Kaldur please wake up!" She shouted sobbing.

She screamed as his slightly cold blood covered her hands and nails. The paramedics rushed him and got the bullet holes covered as best as possible and got him transported to the ambulance. Artemis started cursing and shouting at the paramedic, demanding to know if he would survive. Batman arrived on scene and was able to get on the truck. He ordered the Team to met him at the hospital. He sat next to his son and started to talk to him.

"Biri im, ju duhet të jetë i qetë dhe le ndihmën e mjekut të," (my son, you need to be at ease and let the doctor's help you) he spoke softly while stroking his bloody hand softly.

"B-baba." (daddy)

"Sh. Sh. Djali im. Unë nuk jam duke e lënë anën tuaj. Tani, të qetësuar në rregull." (Sh. Sh. My son. I am not leaving your side. Now, calm down okay.)

Kaldur passed out while his heart dropped drastically. The paramedic injected him with something and it increases his heart rate and stabilized him. The arrived at the hospital and rushed him to emergency surgery. The Team and Batman waited while Artemis stared fearfully other bloody hands. Bruce took Artemis to an empty room and turned on the warm water. He gently washed her hands. Artemis hid her face in his shoulder and cried softly in his neck. He dried her hand's entry while tears fell down her cheek. He took off his cowl and wiped the tears gently and held her close to him.

"It's gonna be okay."

"Th-this is all my fault," she sobbed softly.

"No, it does not stop it."

"I should have seen the gun before."

"Sh. Sh. This is not your fault. You can't control the actions of others."

"Bu-but-"

"But nothing sweetheart. Now, let's get back to the others. They need us okay," he put his cowl back on.

Artemis followed him and hugged M'gann tightly. Later, the new broadcasted a news clip of the owner, now known as Alexander Philips, being lead away in handcuff fro assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and hate crime. Several hours later, around the time of 4:14 a.m, the surgeon came out and said that Kaldur would be okay after a couple of weeks or rest. The bullet barely missed his heart it was touch and for a couple of hours. They went to see him, but he was sleeping, still trying to wake up from the anesthesia. When Kaldur finally woke up, he gazed his tired eyes to a crying Artemis, alone in the room, holding his hand tightly.

"A-artemis, wh-what happe-happen"

"Sh. Be quiet and go back to sleep. I'm gonna get the nurse," she whispered softly while she started to get up.

"Not y-your fault," his body gave up on staying awake and he passes out.

"Yes it is," she whispered and wiped her tears.

Next morning came and Kaldur was awake. He was talking and breathing normally and was recovering faster than expected. He felt an uncomfortable presence from Artemis. He asked to be alone for a while with her and they talked.

"I know you feel guilty for what happened. This is not your fault.

"You got shot trying to protect me."

"You are my sisters, it is my job to protect you, no matter what the risk may or may not be."

"That racist bigot is in jail and charged with a hate crime."

"One less closed minded person in out society," he closed his eyes gently.

"Kal?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you go completely nuts when he called you the 'n' word."

"Because if I did, I would have given him what he wanted. He would have all the ammunition against me. I would be just another stereotype."

"You weren't mad at all?"

"Of course, I was. Who wouldn't be? I know that if I reacted violently, I would have been just a guilty as he was."

"You're a better person than me," Kaldur chuckled softly at her words.

"So Artemis, are you feeling better."

"Yea, thanks, Kaldur."

"You are welcome. Come here," he opened his arms slightly to her.

She hugged him gently, being careful of his wounds. He hugged back gently while rubbing his back. They stayed in the embrace for several seconds and pulled away. Kaldur was able to leave the hospital later that evening. It doesn't matter if you are man or woman, no matter what religion you practice, matter what color your skin is, in the Wayne household, it is your intentions that matter. In the world we live in, people are so quick to judge rush to judgments on people based on their religion or skin. Bruce would never allow that in his house. As people, we should embrace diversity in all people because we are more alike than we are different.


End file.
